


Uncharted Territory

by scorbusrights



Category: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Thorne & Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe, Enemies to Friends, Harry Potter - Freeform, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, I adore Scorpius and James as friends, Karlbus, M/M, Yannpius, ccfandom, dark au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-17
Updated: 2020-02-28
Packaged: 2021-02-27 21:54:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 36,183
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22742827
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scorbusrights/pseuds/scorbusrights
Summary: Scorpius Malfoy has gotten himself into a rather tricky situation. Maybe turning back time a second time and humiliating Cedric Diggory wasn't such a clever idea after all. When he emerges from the lake he ends up in an Alternate Universe where Voldemort rules and Harry Potter is dead.Though, to his surprise, there's a familiar face in this world that he did not expect and they might just be the only person able to help him survive and set the world right. That's if Scorpius can convince them that he can be trusted.
Relationships: Albus Severus Potter & Scorpius Malfoy, Karl Jenkins/Albus Severus Potter, Scorpius Malfoy & James Sirius Potter, Yann Fredericks/Scorpius Malfoy
Comments: 17
Kudos: 27





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before reading this please do know this story is set in the Dark AU from Cursed Child. Which means there's mention of death and trauma, there's violence and there will be scenes in which characters will use the Cruciatus Curse.
> 
> This fic is Not Cursed Child Compliant though I did try to slip in some of my favorite moments and lines.
> 
> Also I highly recommend all of you listen to Uncharted by Kensington. A beautiful song that this title was inspired by.

**Day 1:** A World of Darkness

‘Have you heard?’ someone whispers. ‘Apparently the Scorpion King was found in the lake. We have no idea what he was doing there, but I heard he was acting like a mad man. Asking about Harry Potter and about his son.’

‘About his son?’ the other girl asks, her voice not as much of a whisper - loud enough for half of the library to hear it.

‘Yes. He was asking about Albus Potter.’ 

The boy with the red brown hair jerks his head up, he pushes his glasses further up his nose. He looks at the two girls sitting at the table next to him, who are completely ignoring the sign telling them they’re supposed to be quiet in the library. He narrows his eyes as he tries to listen in on their conversation, but it’s being cut off by the librarian shushing them. He bites his bottom lip, repeating their words over and over again in his head. The Scorpion King was asking about Harry Potter. The Scorpion King was asking about Harry Potter’s son. Albus Potter. 

He quickly pushes all of his books back into his bag, straightening his black coat as he stands up before hanging the bag from his shoulder. With his chin up in the air he walks past the tables. Students are staring at him, whispering his name as he walks past but he ignores them. His shoulders broad, his back straightened and his chin up in the air. Glaring down at everyone that dares to look at him. 

‘For Voldemort and Valour,’ he says as he passes the Librarian, who repeats after him - left hand over right, wrist on wrist, closing hands and twist. His hands are still balled into fists as he walks out of the door. 

He’s walking through the corridors, passing everyone with long and hard strides, giving them no time or reason to speak to him. The Scorpion King asking about Harry Potter and his son, Albus Potter, is the only thing he can think about. A flurry of blonde hair appears at the end of the hallway. 

‘Malfoy!’ he shouts.

The tall, blonde boy in front of him turns around. His eyes and mouth open wide in surprise. His hand covering his mouth before taking a few steps closer. 

‘James?’ His voice is high, filled with surprise and relief. 

‘Don’t you dare come any closer. Why have you been asking about my little brother?’ James’ voice is cold and distant as he glares at Scorpius. 

‘Listen James-’

‘Don’t call me James, Malfoy,’ James advances towards Scorpius, pulling himself to a stop when they’re nearly nose to nose. ‘We’re not friends and we have never been friends. Everyone knows that. I just want to know why you-’ he pokes Scorpius in the shoulder. ‘-have been asking about my father and little brother.’

Scorpius flinches, his hands fidgeting and his breathing becoming rapidly faster. 

‘I’m-’ his voice fades away as he takes in a shaky breath. ‘I’m not who you think I am. I’m not from this world. Is Albus- Albus is he-’

‘What are you talking about?’ James grunts, growing more frustrated with every second passing that he’s around his boy. ‘Is this one of your games again? Because I’m not playing along. You may have everyone in this school wrapped around your finger. You may have everyone fooled, but not me. Don’t you dare come near my brother. You hear me?’

James hoists his bag up on his shoulder and makes a turn. He starts to walk away when a hand grabs his arm. In a quick movement he turns around, his wand pointed at Scorpius. Scorpius who is now- 

‘Why are you on the floor?’ James groans, his wand still pointed at him. 

Scorpius lets out a whining sound as he lowers the arm in front of his face. His eyes are wide, but no longer full of surprise, they’re filled with terror as he looks at James’ wand. His face is pale and his hands are shaking. James lowers his wand, looking at the boy on the ground. The Scorpion King never cowers away from a duel - or a normal fight for that matter. He doesn’t tremble when someone points his wand at him. James knows that all too well, as he and Scorpius Malfoy had gotten in quite a lot of arguments. 

‘Please,’ he whispers. ‘Please, listen to me. I need to talk to you. I’m begging you.’

James sighs as he closes his eyes, rubbing his temple with his free hand. ‘Fine. Meet me in the Hall after dinner.’

‘Won’t anyone hear us?’ 

James’ eyes flick open. ‘Stop asking questions, Malfoy. Just meet me in the Great Hall.’

He can see Scorpius swallow as he scrambles up from the ground. Footsteps approaching them when two students round the corner. Yann Fredericks and Karl Jenkins stop walking, looking from James to Scorpius. James quickly puts his wand back in his cloak, not wanting to attract any attention. 

‘Hey, Scorpion King!’ Karl runs up to him as Yann puts his hand on Scorpius’ shoulder.

‘We’re still on right, tomorrow night?’ he asks, giving Scorpius a knowing look. A smirk on his face as he looks Scorpius up and down, his hand sliding down his arm.

Scorpius seems to shrink a little under his touch, confusion on his face, confusing James as well. He’s fiddling with the sleeves of his black coat as he looks from one of the guys to the other one. 

‘Because we are ready to spill some proper mudblood guts!’ Karl groans, pretending like his own guts are spilling out of his stomach. 

Scorpius nods slightly, an uncomfortable smile on his face that disappears as soon as the two students carry on. 

‘Albus is he-’ Scorpius wants to ask James something but is interrupted by a female voice calling out his name. 

Polly Chapman comes up to Scorpius. James clears his throat, catching Scorpius’ attention again. ‘I will see you right after dinner. Don’t be late or I’m gone.’

* * *

James is leaning against the wall in the Great Hall. His arms crossed in front of his chest as he looks through his glasses at everyone that passes him. Most of the students don’t pay attention to James. They used to bother him about his parents a lot, asking about their deaths because headmistress Umbridge forbid the students to speak about that and because it’s forbidden, of course everyone talks about it. It took James a while to get them to back off, to leave him alone. He glares at a student that meets his eyes, he nearly trips over his legs trying to get away from him as fast as he can. 

Someone stumbles into the Hall and James watches Scorpius Malfoy walk up to him. He watches him. His face is pale, his hair’s a mess and there’s dark circles under his eyes. As their eyes meet James sees fear and insecurity in them, a fear he has never before seen in the Scorpion King’s eyes. His shoulders slump and he looks as if he wishes nothing more than for the ground to swallow him whole. To just disappear. Scorpius Malfoy looks like an entirely different person. But then again, the Scorpion King had tried to fool James more than once, which usually ended in them dueling. Though he won’t admit it, he had never won a duel against James. But then again James spent most of his time training, perfecting his dueling skills, trying to get better and better. The Scorpion King? He usually let others do his dirty work. 

‘You look horrible,’ James says, his voice deep and low. Most people would describe it as threatening, most people usually make sure they get away from him as soon as possible when he speaks like that. 

‘They have been checking me for hexes and curses all morning. I _feel_ horrible,’ Scorpius mumbles, not looking up at James. ‘I feel like I might start throwing up any moment.’

‘Please do it the other way.’

For a moment they’re silent and none of them move. In the distance there’s people whining, begging for help - all coming from the dungeons. James has learned to ignore it for the most part, though he still feels a pang in his heart whenever he has to go down there, knowing there’s nothing he can do for the innocent people that are being locked up. He starts walking to the grand staircases. 

‘Those screams,’ Scorpius’ voice is barely a whisper as he catches up to James as they walk through the hallway leading to what used to be the Gryffindor tower. ‘Those screams and these people begging for help. Who are they? Why- Why are they here?’

‘As if you don’t know,’ James huffs. 

He sees the boy next to him cringe, his arms wrapped around his chest as he shivers. ‘I know, I heard that supposedly it was my idea. That I came up with this. But- But what _is this_?’ 

James stops in his tracks, turning towards Scorpius. Standing so close to him that their noses almost touch when the blonde looks up to him. ‘What kind of game are you playing here, Malfoy?’ he hisses. ‘You know I’m not a fool and you’ve tried to play me more often than not. You know I’m not going to play along with your stupid games and I don’t have time for this nonsense. I don’t even know why I agreed to meet up in the first place. It was your idea to put these muggleborn students down there. To practice torture spells, hexes, every possible spell that can hurt a person. This was your idea and this is your fault.’ 

James shakes his head as he takes in Scorpius one last time. His grey eyes looking into his, trying his best not to look away, to hold James’ glare. His hands fidget at his sides as his breathing seemed to quicken - turning into shallow breaths. James fears that if he doesn’t start to control his breathing now, he might pass out. 

‘I-’ Scorpius takes a step back, his hand on his chest. ‘I don’t- This isn’t-’

James watches him as he leans against the wall with his hand as his other fumbles with the buttons on his black coat, trying to loosen them. 

‘I can’t- I can’t breathe,’ he wheezes as his other hand joins in, trying to get his coat off. ‘I’m not the Scorpion King. This isn’t me. I’m not-’ 

He loses his balance, his back slamming against the wall. James instinctively jumps forward, trying to catch him but Scorpius slides down the wall, to the floor. 

‘Put your head between your knees,’ James commands him.

Scorpius nods slowly, putting his head between his knees. James gently puts his hands on Scorpius’ knees, squeezing it softly.

‘Now try and focus on something. Just one thing. Like my hand on your knee and breathe. Don’t stop breathing.’

For a moment they sit there. Both boys on the floor of the empty hallway as James waits for Scorpius to calm down and breathe normally. 

‘I’m sorry,’ Scorpius whispers as he looks back up again. ‘I’m so sorry. For everything.’

‘What are you talking about?’ 

‘All of this is my fault. This whole world. It’s my fault,’ he chokes on his words, trying to hold back his sobs as he buries his face in his hands.

James lets out a deep sigh. _What have you gotten yourself into James?_ Is all he can think about before turning his attention back to the boy in front of him. ‘Okay, come on. Let’s go somewhere we can talk.’

He walks further into the hallway and looks behind him. Scorpius is still sitting on the ground, looking at James, doubt and fear in his eyes. 

‘Listen, you were the one that wanted to talk to me,’ James says. ‘This is your only chance. If you don’t come now, I’m leaving.’

Scorpius scrambles up from the floor, quickly following behind James, not wanting to think about being on his own in the castle right now. They climb through what used to be a portrait hole, into a room. A room that’s torn apart, curtains ripped apart on the floor, wooden chairs and tables torn to pieces. It’s a mess. But the ray of sunlight that comes in through the stained window falls onto a crest. The crest with a lion on it. It’s the old Gryffindor common room.

‘We’re not supposed to be here, right?’ Scorpius asks softly. 

‘We’re not supposed to be here,’ James confirms as he gestures for Scorpius to take place on one of the chairs that’s still standing. 

Scorpius sits down, his hands wringing in his lap as his left leg bounces up and down. His eyes are exploring the room as James crosses his arms in front of his chest. He looks down on Scorpius, his eyebrows raised, waiting for him to start talking. After a minute of waiting, Scorpius looks back up. 

‘If you could change the world, would you?’ Scorpius asks. 

James gives him a confused look, not sure what the blonde in front of him is talking about.

‘If you could change the world into one where there wasn’t this much darkness? A world where the death eaters never won and Voldemort never ruled. Would you do it?’

James presses his lips into a fine line, not sure what Scorpius is on about and not sure if this is a trap. If James answers and he does turn out to be playing a game with him, he could be in great trouble. 

‘Your silence says enough,’ Scorpius whispers and he reaches his hand into his pocket. 

James closes his hand around his wand, ready to pull it out, depending on what Scorpius is reaching for. A shiny trinket appears from his pocket and he holds it into his hands for James to see. 

‘What if I was to tell you that there was another world. A world in which Voldemort was defeated at the Battle of Hogwarts, in which Harry Potter and Dumbledore’s Army won, how would you feel then-’

‘Why do you have a Time-Turner?’ James narrows his eyes as he looks at the Time-Turner in Scorpius’ hand. ‘And why does it look this odd?’

'You know about Time-Turners?'

'Why do you sound so surprised?' James grumbles as he looks up at Scorpius again.

‘I- I'm not-' Scorpius stumbles over his words, shrinking under James' cold gaze. 'I'll just answer your first question. Albus and I stole this from the Ministry of Magic, from the Minister for Magic. We used it to go back in time, to try and change it. To safe someone, but-’

‘You and Albus, as in my little brother Albus, stole a Time-Turner from the Minister for Magic? And you used it to go back in time? Do you know just how unbelievable this sounds?’ 

Scorpius cringes in his chair, holding the Time-Turner tightly to his chest. ‘I know. I know it sounds unbelievable. But I’m going to need you to listen to me, please?’

A deep sigh escapes from James’ lips and he rolls his eyes. ‘Fine, go on.’

Scorpius tells James everything. About Albus telling Scorpius about the Triwizard Tournament, about Amos Diggory coming to visit them and begging Harry Potter to bring his son back. To how Albus convinced Scorpius to jump off the Hogwarts Express, how they broke into the Ministry of Magic and got the Time-Turner. How they went back in time a second time because they didn’t change what they intended to change. They didn’t save Cedric. Ending with how he ended up in this world, a World of Darkness.

‘So, let me get this clear. You two went back the first time and didn’t get the result you wanted? Though it did get you in quite some trouble, right?’ Scorpius nods at James. ‘So then you both thought it would be a brilliant idea to go back in time _another time_ and with that you killed off pretty much all the people that were fighting against Voldemort and made sure he won?’

‘When you say it like that it does sound really, _really_ bad,’ Scorpius mumbles, his face scrunched up in guilt and shame. 

‘I need you to tell me some more, in detail. So you and Albus in this other world?’

‘Albus, he’s my best friend in this other world. Truly one of the kindest people I have ever met. We met the first day on the Hogwarts Express. See there’s this rumor going on in the Wizarding World that I’m supposedly- That I’m the son-’ Scorpius takes in a sharp breath.

‘That you’re the son of Voldemort.’

Scorpius looks up at James. ‘Yes, that- that rumor, yes. It's crazy isn't it? Me the son of Lord Voldemort? Ah!' He pulls a face but James shakes his head, shutting him down again. 'So that rumor is still the same in this world?’

James nods. ‘It is. It’s one of the reasons people fear you as much as they do.’

‘Great,’ Scorpius mumbles, focusing his attention on his hands again. ‘That’s wonderful. I mean I guess it’s a good thing they fear me here, because back in the other world people bully me. They write ‘Son of Voldemort’ on my trunk, shout the most horrible names at me. It’s horrible and-’

‘Malfoy, focus on the story please.’

‘Oh- Yes sorry. I guess we’ll skip the whole Albus and me becoming friends part as well then,’ Scorpius says before he tells James everything about when they went back to the first task of the Triwizard Tournament, how they disarmed Cedric. How they went back to the present and Albus had gotten hurt. How their father had told Albus to stay away from each other. To their fight in the library and them deciding to go back in time once more.

‘Then I lost Albus,’ Scorpius whispers. ‘I lost Albus in the lake before I went back in time. As soon as I realized he was not with me, I decided to do it on my own. I used the Engorgio charm on Cedric and humiliated him. We were certain that it would fix everything, that it would bring back whom we've lost and it would be alright. But then when I emerged from the lake it wasn't and I have no idea why the world turned so dark. How did all of this happen? How did Harry Potter not defeat Voldemort and how come he now rules?’ 

James puffs his cheeks, taking in everything Scorpius had just told him, before releasing all air again. Scorpius looks at James, waiting for him to explain to him how this happened, ready to hang onto every word the older Potter brother will tell him. 

'We're really not allowed to talk about my-,' James takes in a sharp breath as he looks around the common room once. 'My parents. Especially my dad. If we get caught-'

James stops talking and Scorpius swallows. 'What happens if we get caught?'

'It doesn't matter. Voldemort was able to survive because they did not destroy one of the horcruxes. They weren’t able to kill the last horcrux, the snake.’

‘But professor Longbottom was supposed to kill Nagini. Is he-’ Scorpius voice fades, shock and horror on his face thinking of his professor back in his own world. 

‘Neville Longbottom? He died. He was killed by Cedric Diggory,’ James answers. 

Scorpius gasps. ‘That’s it. Professor Longbottom was supposed to kill Nagini. That was the one horcrux they still needed to destroy for your father to kill Voldemort. For your father and the rest of the wizards that fought with him to survive and win the war,’ Scorpius runs a hand through his hair. ‘But how did your parents manage to survive?’

‘I don’t know much. The home that Albus and I ended up with had strict rules, no one could speak of the people that fought against Voldemort and his army. All I know is that a lot of people didn’t survive. My parents and a few of their friends managed to get out of there. I heard there was a man that sacrificed his life to save my father's life, he jumped in between him and Voldemort. He used to work at Hogwarts, his name was Hagrid.’

‘Hagrid is still alive in my world,’ Scorpius says. Thinking of the big man that makes him and Albus tea whenever they come visit. Hagrid has always been incredibly kind and welcoming towards the two boys, even when everyone else wasn’t. ‘He gave up his life for your father. That’s brave.’

‘I guess I owe my life to him. My parents went into hiding. Much like my father’s parents did when he was just a little baby. But the death eaters found them. They were killed and we ended up in a home for foster children.’

Scorpius gasps. ‘I’m so sorry. I need to fix this. I need to fix this for all of us. But I’m afraid I can’t do this on my own.’ He looks at James, his eyes pleading. ‘Please James. You seem to know the school very well. Please help me fix this? Imagine a world where Voldemort is defeated. Where he doesn’t rule.’

James rubs his face with his hands before crossing his arms on the table. Leaning forward as he stares at Scorpius. His eyes searching the boy’s face before looking into his grey eyes. 

‘Why should I trust you, Malfoy? Give me one good reason why I should help you to try and fix all that you’ve just told me?’ James looks at Scorpius, challenging him, not sure whether he truly believes everything this boy has just told him. 

‘Do it for Albus and for Lily Luna,’ Scorpius answers, his eyes never leaving James.

‘I don’t know a Lily Luna. Who is Lily Luna?’ 

‘Lily Luna Potter is your little sister.’

‘I don’t have a little sister,’ James whispers, clenching his jaw. 

‘Not in this world you don’t,’ Scorpius also leans forward onto the table, holding James’ gaze. ‘In the other world you do. Lily Luna Potter, she’s born after Albus. She’s the third Potter sibling. She looks a lot like your mother. Her hair’s as red as hers, her eyes as warm and brown, just like yours and Albus’. 

She’s fierce, she knows exactly what she wants and she knows exactly how to get it. Both you and Albus have a really bad soft spot for her, you give her everything she wants. You can’t say no to her. But she’s got a big heart of gold. She can light up a whole room when she walks in. She’s kind, caring and loving. Her smile is so contagious that everyone smiles along with her. One time she stood up for me to a few seventh year students. She didn’t care they were twice as tall as her, that they could hex her in a heartbeat. She didn’t hesitate and called them out for their behavior. For a girl as small as she is, she’s got a big personality. I admire her for that. There should be more people like Lily Luna Potter. 

But most of all, she adores you, James. She won’t leave the Great Hall at breakfast without giving you a hug, wishing you a wonderful day. You carry her on your shoulders on the warm summer days spent outside. You help her with her homework, though I feel like she could teach you more than you can teach her,’ Scorpius and James both chuckle softly. ‘She truly is a bright, young witch. Do it for her. Do it for Albus. Do it for your parents.’

James takes a deep breath. ‘I need some time to think about this, Malfoy. I-’

Two voices sound from the hallway and two boys stumble into the common room. James and Scorpius look up, James ready to grab his wand and use it when he sees who entered the room. 

‘Albus, what are you doing here?’ 

Albus stops in his tracks. Behind him Karl Jenkins bumps into him, his face flushed and a wide grin on his face. His face turns a brighter red when he sees James who narrows his eyes at him. He averts his eyes towards Albus, waiting for him to say something.

Next to him James hears Scorpius gasp for air. The blonde jumps up, nearly tripping over his own feet as he makes his way to Albus. James holds his breath as he watches the two boys. Scorpius reaches his hands out to the raven haired boy, not sure whether he wants to hug him or just touch him - to see if he’s real. To see if he’s really here. Before he can decide, Albus slaps his hand away. His normally warm and kind eyes now cold and distant as he looks at Scorpius.

‘What is your problem, Malfoy?’ his voice is venomous, his face scrunched up in anger. ‘Don’t touch me. Don’t you ever touch me.’

Scorpius flinches visibly, taking a big step back as if he’s just been hit in the face. James jumps up, quickly coming over to the other three boys. He glances at Scorpius who looks like he’s about to burst into tears - to Albus.

‘Albus,’ his voice is stern as he stands in front of Scorpius. ‘Take it easy.’

His eyes meet James’ and there’s anger in his face, so much anger. ‘Don’t tell _me_ to take it easy, James. Not when all you’ve been doing is picking fights with everyone. And now you’re up here, where we’re not even allowed to be, and you’re together with Malfoy.’ He spits Scorpius’ last name as if it’s something dirty. 

James puts his hand on Albus’ shoulder but his brother shrugs it off, taking a step away from him. 

‘What the fuck, James?’ he hisses at his brother, his face red from the anger that’s surging through his veins. ‘His family killed our parents.’

James casts his eyes down, a sigh leaving his lips. He can hear Scorpius shift behind him. A few seconds pass before he looks back up again, at his little brother. Albus would never admit it, but James can see the hurt in his eyes. The hurt he still feels when thinking of his parents. Hurt that he can never show around anyone else. But James can see it, he always can for Albus is his little brother and he knows that look all too well. It’s the look he sees when he looks at himself in the mirror. 

‘Albus, it’s not like that-’

‘I know James. It’s probably none of my business, right? It never is.’

Albus turns around, grabbing Karl’s hand before storming out of the room. James goes to follow him, but changes his mind when his brother yells at him to leave him alone. He takes off his glasses, rubbing the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index finger. 

‘Are you okay?’ James mumbles as he puts his glasses back on his face. 

He turns around, facing Scorpius - who looks paler than he usually does, almost as if he’s going to throw up any minute. Grey eyes stare into his, but there’s no sound when he opens his mouth. James frowns, if Scorpius hadn’t convinced him that he is not the Scorpion King yet, seeing how upset he is now definitely would. 

‘That’s not Albus,’ Scorpius whispers, more to himself than to James. 

The older Potter brother can’t help but feel sorry for him. He said Albus is his best friend in the other world, the best person he has ever met. To see him like this, hear him talk to him like that, must be hard. But he has no idea what to say or do to comfort the boy in front of him. Albus was right, Scorpius Malfoy’s family did kill his parents. _His parents_. And though the boy in front of him is from another world, he can’t help but think about it every time he looks at him. 

‘Who was it?’ Scorpius voice is barely a whisper. ‘Which one of my family members did it?’ 

James bites down on his bottom lip before meeting Scorpius’ eyes again. ‘Your father.’

  
  



	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before reading this please do know this story is set in the Dark AU from Cursed Child. Which means there's mention of death and trauma, there's violence and there will be scenes in which characters will use the Cruciatus Curse.
> 
> This fic is Not Cursed Child Compliant though I did try to slip in some of my favorite moments and lines.
> 
> Also I highly recommend all of you listen to Uncharted by Kensington. A beautiful song that this title was inspired by.

Scorpius and James walk into the common room. A lot of students are hanging out together - chatting, studying and playing games of wizard chess and exploding snap. 

‘This is the common room. There’s just one left,’ James turns towards Scorpius. ‘Try your best to fit in. If there’s a problem, come find me. Don’t do anything stupid, okay?’

Scorpius nods. ‘I’ll try not to do anything stupid.’

‘That’s-’ James sighs as he rubs his temples. ‘Fine, that will have to do. I’m going to head up to my dorm. Will you be alright?’

‘Where’s my dorm?’ Scorpius looks at the grand staircase leading up to the dorms, it’s the exact same as the Slytherin common room back in his world. 

‘Go up two flights of stairs and it’s the first one on the right. The same as-’ James hesitates for a moment as his eyes find his brother in the corner of the common room. ‘The same as Albus.’

Scorpius follows James’ line of sight. Albus is sitting in a big armchair, with Karl Jenkins next to him. Karl’s legs are swung over Albus’, his face buried in the crook of Albus’ neck as the latter is reading a book. Scorpius can’t help but think about the times that Albus and him shared a big armchair. Albus would pull Scorpius’ legs over his lap, resting his book on them so he could read as he’d trace the lines of the palm of Scorpius’ hand. Calming himself down as he’d concentrate on what he’s reading. 

Albus chuckles at something Karl whispers before whispering something back. His eyes leave the page of the book and find Scorpius looking at him. For a moment their eyes are locked onto each other. But instead of the smile that usually appears on Albus’ face when he sees Scorpius, there’s now a thin line - his lips pressed together. Instead of his eyes lighting up, there’s cold hatred in them. 

Scorpius can feel his stomach turn at the sight of his best friend. The hate in his eyes making his blood run cold. He often thought of what would have happened to him if Albus hadn’t decided to stay in his compartment on that first day on the Hogwarts Express. He often had nightmares in which Albus would turn his back on him, changing his mind about their friendship. Saying that Scorpius was a burden, that he was better off without him. 

Those nightmares had gotten worse when stuck in the first alternate universe. In which Harry Potter forbid Albus from seeing Scorpius. Scorpius didn’t think it could get worse than that. Having Albus avoid him, not being able to talk to him - he thought that was the worst thing. But seeing Albus look at him as if he’s lord Voldemort himself, having him speak his last name with such utter disgust and not being able to run to him for comfort - comfort he so desperately needs right now - is much worse.

‘I think it would be best to leave him alone,’ James whispers, softly squeezing Scorpius’ upper arm. ‘You two truly don’t get along in this world.’

Scorpius nods, trying to ignore the sick feeling in his stomach. James gives his shoulder a last squeeze before walking up the spiral staircase. Karl kisses Albus' jaw, tracing a line of kisses on it before turning his face towards him, forcing Albus to look at him. The two boys smile at each other before Karl presses his lips to Albus'. Scorpius' heart sinks as he rips his eyes away from the raven haired boy in the big armchair.

He makes his way through the common room, rushing towards the dorm. Ignoring everyone that's calling out his name, dodging everyone that's coming up to him to talk to him. He doesn't stop running until he's up in the dorm, closing the door behind him and resting his head against the cold wood.

'Scorpius, are you okay?' a voice sounds.

He looks up, eyes wide in surprise as he didn't expect anyone to be up here. Yann is sitting on his bed, his legs crossed. His hair is messy and he pushes his glasses further up his nose as he takes in Scorpius.

'Aren't you supposed to be in the dungeons right now?' Yann asks when Scorpius doesn't reply.

'Aren't _you_ supposed to be in the dungeons right now?' Scorpius says, crossing his arms in front of his body as he leans against the door with his shoulder. Pulling up one eyebrow to make it seem like he's challenging Yann. 'Why are you even in the dorm when everyone else is downstairs?'

'You do know I could ask you the same?' Yann says as he takes his glasses off. He swings his legs over the edge of the bed, facing Scorpius. 'I was planning on going down but was up here waiting for you.'

Scorpius feels the nerves settling in his stomach as Yann stands up, walking up to him. He tries his best to hide the shaking of his hands and to keep his face straight. Yann flashes him a smile which contains a lot of nerves, to Scorpius' surprise. It's as if there's a completely different person standing in front of him than the one who came up to him earlier today. Who had asked him if they were still on for tomorrow night, probably to go torture the people that are locked up in the dungeons. Instead the boy in front of him is now wringing his hands as he takes in a shaky breath.

'I was planning on asking you something. I wanted to-' his voice cuts off and he quickly averts his eyes before finding the courage to look at Scorpius again. 'I was wondering if you, the Scorpion King, wanted to go- to go to the Blood Ball?' Yann puffs his cheeks, releases all air out of it again and points at himself. 'I mean with me. Yann. I was wondering if you want to go to the Blood Ball, with me. You and me.' He points from Scorpius back to himself again as he lets out a nervous chuckle.

Scorpius opens his mouth to say something, but there's no sound. He looks around the dorm, as if to look for his voice. Overwhelmed by Yann Fredericks asking him to the Blood Ball. Right after Polly Chapman had asked him. Scorpius had never doubted his sexuality, he had almost always known he doesn't have a preference when it comes to who he'd love. But to know the Scorpion King might be out and open about his sexuality, meanwhile Scorpius is still with one foot inside of his closet, was kind of relieving somehow.

'Only if you want to of course,' Yann breaks the silence between the both of them. His face flushing as he casts his eyes down, looking at Scorpius' feet, not daring to look back up in his eyes. 'I mean I know this thing between us is pretty new and you don't really want to make it that public yet. I get that and I respect that. I just thought it might be nice to just spend one night together.'

Scorpius has to keep himself from gasping out loud. He said, _this thing between us_ and _don't want to make it that public yet._ Yann Fredericks and him. Yann Fredericks and Scorpius Malfoy. But what do they have?

'Eh-' Scorpius takes in a deep breath. 'I mean I haven't really thought about going to the Blood Ball. Let alone who I'd want to go to the Blood Ball with and eh-' he bites on the inside of his cheek as he tries to find the right words. 'I mean- I think what we have is great,' he bluffs, trying to read Yann's facial expressions to see if it's the right thing to say. He's relieved when a smile appears onto Yann's face again. 'But I think I might be going on my own. But maybe- Maybe we could share a dance? At the Blood Ball? You and me?'

Yann looks back at Scorpius, his eyes lighting up and a wide smile on his face. For a moment Scorpius seems to forget how to breath as he looks into Yann's brown eyes, realizing how beautiful the boy in front of him actually is. He shakes his head, snapping himself out of his thoughts as he moves away from the wall.

'Does that sound like a good plan?'

Yann nods. 'That sounds like a wonderful plan.' For a moment they stand still, both of them looking at each other.

Yann beaming at Scorpius and Scorpius trying to think of his next move. _What would the Scorpion King do?_ He squeezes Yann's upper arm softly and gives him a wink. But before he can pass Yann to walk to the trunk with his initials on it, the boy moves forward. Pressing his lips to Scorpius', who makes a surprised noise - this action answering Scorpius' question of what he and Yann had that he didn't want to make public yet. Yann pulls back, his face completely flushed red as he flashes a quick smile Scorpius' way. He whispers a quick _For Voldemort and Valour,_ before walking out of the dorm.

* * *

**Day 2:** A World of Darkness

James walks out of the common room. He yawns as he closes the buttons of his black coat. Sometimes he wishes they would still use cloaks. They use it on certain occasions but not like they used to in Hogwarts, when his parents went to school here. He used to love playing around with his parent's old cloaks. He'd run around the house, swishing them, performing dances for his parents. Albus would sit on the floor, looking up at James in awe, giggling as James would run up to him and pull the cloak around the both of them. Together with his mother they'd look through albums filled with old pictures. Pictures from the time that his parents went to Hogwarts. He'd always tell her that he couldn't wait to have his own cloak. He huffs as he straightens the jacket and walks through the dungeons. The only sound coming from his heavy boots as he marches down the hallway.

He walks up to the room that he and Scorpius would meet at and a sniffing sound catches his attention. The door is ajar and James carefully opens it up a bit further. He pokes his head around the corner and his eyes find someone sitting on the floor. Their knees pulled up to their chest, their face buried in their arms but the flurry of white hair on top of their head gives them away. He walks into the room and closes the door as quietly as possible.

'Scorpius?' he softly calls out, trying not to startle the boy too much.

Scorpius looks up, his grey eyes looking up into James'. They're bloodshot, telling him that the boy had been here for a while - that he had been crying for a while.

'Are you okay?' James is uncertain of what to do. Seeing someone cry isn't something that happened very often. In this school they are punished for showing weakness. Not just by the teachers, but by other students. If someone catches you crying, they will know you're a weak target, and they will use that, either to their advantage or for their entertainment.

Scorpius nods, quickly wiping his face with his sleeve. 'I'm fine. I'm-' but his voice cracks and new tears fall down his cheeks. 'I'm sorry. Just- If you want to go, you can go. I'm sure you have more important and better things to do and you wouldn't want to risk being seen with me.'

'I don't have anything better to do,' James says as walks up to Scorpius.

The boy looks up to him. He looks vulnerable and small. When he looks at Scorpius, he sees himself. He thinks back to all the moments that he'd hide in empty rooms, trying to get away from the other children in the home he was placed in after his parents died. Crying his eyes out because he missed them. Crying because of how heavy the weight on his shoulders was, having to look out for himself _and_ Albus. Teaching his little brother everything he knew, trying to keep the memory of his parents alive. Trying to get Albus to have faith, to show him that there's still hope for a better future. Even though everything around them proved that it wasn't. There was no bright future for the Potter brothers. Just darkness. Darkness that would surround them and at one point swallow them whole.

He couldn't walk away from the boy that was sitting on the ground. Because that used to be him and James knows what it's like to feel defeated and alone. He used to pray for someone to come up to him, to talk to him and comfort him in any way. For James that never happened. James never found his light in the darkness. But he could try and be that for someone else. He could try and be that light in the darkness for Scorpius Malfoy - at least for now.

'Talk to me. I'm here to listen.'

‘Albus,’ Scorpius whispers as he looks at his hands, finding a sudden interest in them. ‘I know I told you about him being my best- Well, my best and my only friend, in my world. But what is he like in this world?’ 

James frowns as he goes to sit down next to Scorpius. He lets his arms rest on his knees and his head against the wall. ‘Very closed off. He keeps everything to himself. He doesn’t really talk much, at least not about his feelings or emotions. He's different from the rest but most students look up to him, it’s probably the last name. I mean, it’s the same for the Scorpion King.’

Scorpius cringes at the sound of that name. 

‘Having famous parents matters at this school. Imagine being a Malfoy, people look up to you because your father is Draco Malfoy and your grandfather is Lucius Malfoy. Great names among the death eaters. Now imagine being a Potter. Your parents fighting against Voldemort for all those years and all of his followers and now you’re at this school. Honoring his existence with a greeting,’ James looks at his hands with a disgusted look on his face. ‘That’s rather interesting. Especially to all of these-’ he catches himself. ‘Especially to the students at this school. When I came to this school for the first time people would look at me every day, wanting to test me - challenge me. I had to fight myself though tons of kids challenging me for duels, trying to prank me or get me into trouble with the headmistress. I had to become better at dueling, I had to become smarter than them so I turned the tides. I became the one to challenge them and I showed them not to mess with me.

When Albus eventually came to the school, everything had changed. Somehow he was more welcomed into the group of students, because he caved. He caved to the pressure, pretending to be one of them whereas I stood up against them. I think Albus likes the attention, he likes having people around him that adore him, that look up to him. To not be alone. Though he pretends to be someone he’s not, which I think we both are, but Albus sometimes seems to lose himself to that. There’s a hint of darkness to him that I can’t seem to get to. But I don’t think he is capable of doing what other students do and-’ 

There’s a distant cry for help, echoing through the dungeons. Scorpius wants to jump up, but James pulls him down. His hand resting on his shoulder as Scorpius’ wild eyes look frantically to the exit of the room that leads to those halls. 

‘There’s nothing you can do,’ James’ voice sounds rather harsh, more than he intended to. ‘You can’t help them.’

‘What do you mean with what other students are capable of?’ Scorpius sounds reluctant, not really sure if he wants to know what goes on in the depths of the dungeons. 

‘Like I said the first time we spoke. It had been suggested by-’ James stops talking, clearing his throat before continuing, not wanting to remind Scorpius that the version of him - in this world - had been the one to suggest this. ‘A while ago muggle born wizards started disappearing, turns out it was a select group of students that were taking them - bringing them to the dungeons. Turns out they had been granted permission to do this by headmistress Umbridge. Hell, some of the teachers were even in on it. It’s truly disgusting,’ James’ voice turns soft, thinking of all the muggle born wizards locked in the dungeons right at this moment. ‘They’re being tortured. They’re being hexed. They’re being hurt and humiliated in lots of different ways. They're being hurt to the point that they lose their sanity. It didn’t take long before they became subjects, props to be used during class. Students are forced to perform magic on these innocent people.’

‘That’s horrible,’ Scorpius looks horrified, his eyes wide with disbelief and his lips pressed into a thin line as he thinks about what James has told him. ‘Did you- I mean, as it’s mandatory- Did you-’ he can’t get the words out.

‘I did,’ James answers. He looks down at his shaking hands, reminding him of what he has done. He crosses his arms in front of his body. ‘I did do it, I’ll probably have to do it again and you will have to do it as well.’

Scorpius gulps, his skin turning paler at the thought of having to use those horrible spells on human beings. He can feel his stomach turn, feeling sick. ‘I don’t want to do that. I can’t do that.’

‘You’re the Scorpion King now,’ James says as he glances at Scorpius. ‘And the Scorpion King loves it.’ 

There's a moment of silence in which both boys sit back and look at the wall in front of them.

'I miss him,' Scorpius says breaking the silence eventually. 'I miss Albus. Not this one, but the one from my world.'

'What's he like in your world?' James asks, turning his body to look at Scorpius. Eager to hear about the Albus, his little brother, in the other world.

Scorpius can't help but smile at the thought of his best friend. 'He's one of the kindest people I have ever met. Did you know he was the very first of the Hogwarts students to actually talk to me, you know with the rumor going on about me being Voldemort's son. Albus stayed, even when he heard about that rumor, he stayed with me in the compartment - all the way to Hogwarts. It was nice, though I couldn't shake the feeling that as soon as we'd get to Hogwarts, he'd meet new people, make real friends and I'd be alone again. But then he got sorted into Slytherin, the same house as me.'

'Albus got sorted into Slytherin?' James asks, a confused look on his face. 'But both of our parents got sorted into Gryffindor. As did the rest of our family.'

'Yes. People say that a lot. Potters don't belong in Slytherin. But that one does,' Scorpius imitates Albus' little dance when he told Scorpius that, chuckling lightly to himself. 'Albus got sorted into Slytherin. He was truly scared that his parents, Lily and you would hate him for it. See, Slytherin isn't a house filled with bad wizards like people think it is. If anything, Albus being sorted into it would prove that. He has the biggest heart, he cares deeply about the people around him, but he has issues expressing his feelings. He's closed off, I think that's the same as your Albus in this world. He doesn't know how to express what he is feeling so it results in him getting angry. Building up this wall around himself, trying to push others away. But he stayed. He stayed by my side through all the bullying, the teasing and the horrible words that were being thrown at us. He always remained by my side through it all.

When Albus looks at me, he looks at me like I have given him the world. Like I'm the best thing he has ever seen, which I will never understand. He sees me for who I am and he accepts me for it. But now all I see when I look at him, in this world, is what it probably would have been like if Albus would have believed the rumors. Instead of seeing me, he's now looking through me.'

'Your friendship sounds really special,' James says, a smile on his face as Scorpius looks back up at him. 'It sounds like you love each other very much. That's something to hold on to. To think about in these darker times. You know the light in the darkness that we need? Sometimes that’s a person. That little spark of hope, that light inside of your heart and mind. That's Albus. Don't let go of that.'

Scorpius smiles back at him. 'Thank you, James.'

'Don't mention it,' James nods at him. 'How about me and Albus? Do we get along in your world?'

Scorpius whistles softly. 'Not really.'

James sighs, looking down at his hands in his lap.

'Look, Albus- He's a tough one. He's stubborn. He has the worst temper and he truly has a habit of getting on your nerves. He knows exactly what to say to set someone off. But I know that he truly loves all of you - his family. But he needs time and he's a teenager. We're all teenagers and we're all trying to find our way through life. I'm sure that when Albus and you - the you from my world - work through your own problems and struggles, you'll find each other.' Scorpius nudges James with his shoulder. 'And if not, I promise I will lock you both up in a room until you come out of it as the bestest of friends.'

James chuckles. 'I'm not sure if after an hour there will still be a room to lock us into.'

Scorpius laughs. The first time in a while that he's genuinely laughing. 'You make a very good point.'

James is silent, thinking over everything Scorpius has told him about Albus. Making him want to ask the boy so many more questions. About his sister, about their relationship, about his parents. _His parents_. But he can't, it will only drive him mad thinking about them being alive. About how life is with them. If Scorpius fails and he can't fix time, he doesn't want to know everything about his other life. His _better_ life.

'Yann Fredericks kissed me,' Scorpius mumbles, to break the silence hanging between them. James looks at him - eyes wide in surprise, mouth open in shock. 'He asked me to the Blood Ball, then he kissed me before he left the dorm. Apparently there's something between him and the Scorpion King that the Scorpion King doesn't want to make public yet. I can make a wild guess that it has something to do with that.'

'Yann Fredericks and the Scorpion King. I guess it makes sense as they're pretty much inseparable. I mean sharing the same hobby of torturing innocent people seems like a very romantic way to bond with each other.'

A shiver runs down Scorpius' back as he thinks of what he - _no, the Scorpion King_ \- has done in this world. He needs to keep reminding himself that he is not the same person as the Scorpion King. This is not his world. He didn't do this. Though it's extremely hard when everyone looks at you as if you might kill them if they come to close.

'Come on,' James nods his head in the direction of the door. 'We should get you to headmistress Umbridge's office if you want to be on time for your appointment.'

'James,' Scorpius grabs James' arm before he can walk off. He quickly takes a step back, dropping his hands to his sides again when James looks back to him. 'Will you come with me?'

James hesitates for a moment, not sure if he will be able to step foot in the Ministry of Magic. But the fear in Scorpius' eyes is real and he can't let the boy go on his own. He nods his head, gesturing for Scorpius to follow him.

* * *

James sits down in a chair as Scorpius awkwardly waves at him, before entering his father’s office. It took them some convincing for headmistress Umbridge to let James go with Scorpius. They're lucky the Scorpion King is valued by her. He looks around the grey, empty waiting room as he nervously wrings his hands. He doesn’t like being at Hogwarts, but to be at the heart of the Ministry of Magic is worse. 

He takes in a deep breath to help calm his heart from beating like crazy. As he shifts in his seat, he tries to listen to the sounds coming from the office. There’s raised voices, but he can’t hear what they’re saying. Then there’s a loud bang. He jumps up from his chair, nearly knocking it over as he makes his way to the office door. 

He pulls it open and takes in the scenario before him. Scorpius is on the floor, his hand up to his face. His father is standing behind his desk, holding onto his hand and there's a look of terror on his face.

For a moment James can’t move. It’s as if his limbs are frozen. His eyes focused on the man behind the desk. Draco Malfoy. The man he saw entering his house before the other death eaters arrived. Before they killed his- He looks away, trying to focus on Scorpius. 

‘Malfoy, are you okay?’ he asks, extending his hand toward the boy on the floor.

He hesitates for a bit before he takes James’ hand. He helps him up and pulls him slightly behind him. His eyes on Draco Malfoy again.

‘I’d like to speak to my son in private,’ his is voice cold, tracing a shiver down James’ spine. ‘I think it’s best for you to leave this office now.’

‘I think it’s best if you go take a walk,’ James answers, his voice deeper than it normally is. The voice he uses when people approach him at Hogwarts, when he’s trying to make himself tougher than he actually is. It surprises him and he can hear Scorpius gasp for air as well. 

Draco walks around his desk and James reaches for his wand, ready to pull it as soon as everything goes south.

‘If you don’t walk out of this office right now-’

‘Then what?’ James spits at him, pulling his wand out, pointing it at Draco. ‘You’ll kill me like you’ve killed my parents?’

Draco freezes and James tightens his grip around his wand. Realizing that he’s on very thin ice. But he doesn’t care. All he sees is his mother’s eyes looking at him, begging for him to go back upstairs. Her body falling to the ground, her eyes never leaving him, not even when the light inside of it had disappeared. He tries to steady his shaking hand.

‘I didn’t kill your parents,’ Draco's voice pulls him back to reality. His voice soft and sad. ‘I didn’t kill your parents, James.’

‘I was there,’ James whispers, his voice breaking. ‘I was there, I saw you come in right before the death eaters came in. I SAW YOU!’

‘I wasn’t there to kill your parents,’ Draco stops in front of James, paying no attention to the wand pointed at him. Looking at James and only at James. ‘I was there to warn them. I heard that the death eaters had found out where you and your family were hiding. I went there to warn them. To tell them to grab you and Albus and run. But I was too late.’

James holds his breath, digging his fingernails in his balled up hand. His eyes trained on Draco, searching his face for a sign that he’s lying. But he can’t find anything. All this time, all these years, he was convinced it was Draco Malfoy that was responsible for his parents death. Instead Draco Malfoy was there to warn his parents. There’s a pang in his heart. If he had only gotten there earlier, if only he had been faster. His parents could have run. His parents would still be alive. They would be with him. _Don’t do this James_ , he scolds himself. 

‘James,’ Draco takes a step forward.

James tightens his grip on his wand but his hand is shaking. His aim would be way off if he’d fire a spell now. 'How do I know you're not lying?' his voice is shaking as badly as his hand.

'Your parents were the most wanted people in the Wizarding World, considered extremely dangerous and to be approached with caution. If I was with the death eaters, I wouldn't have come in alone. If I was with the death eaters, your parents wouldn't have let me inside of the house. I wrote your parents all the time. To keep them updated on what the death eaters were doing, warning them whenever I felt like they came too close to finding out where your parents were. I would never have harmed your parents. That night I was there to warn them.'

'Didn't you get in trouble then?' Scorpius asks. 'Because you were already in the house when the death eaters came?'

'I convinced them that I got a tip from another person, that I went to check it out before I called it in. How lucky I had been that the death eaters had come at just the right time,' his face is full of disgust when he says that. 'I convinced them to bring James and Albus to a home. To set an example, that we can be merciful. That we allow others to have a second chance, to better their lives and how their loyalty to Lord Voldemort. I still feel horrible for ever having spoken those words after what had just happened.'

James feels a hand wrap itself around his and out of the corner of his eye he sees that Scorpius has come up to him. His grey eyes look into James’ and he slowly lowers the hand with his wand into it. He gently takes James’ wand, squeezing his now empty hand. 

‘I’m sorry, James. I really am. I wish I could have gotten there sooner. If I could have been faster-’

‘It’s not your fault,’ James’ voice is soft, trying to hold onto the touch of Scorpius’ hand on his arm like an anchor. Trying not to lose himself in the overwhelming sadness that’s flooding his mind. ‘It’s not your fault, Mr. Malfoy. I’m truly sorry for barging into your office like this, accusing you of that crime. It was unfair.’ He looks up meeting his eyes again. The same grey as Scorpius’. ‘Scorpius is your son. Don’t throw away what you have for your pride or because you have to prove something. It’s not worth it, take that from me. I’d do anything for another minute with my parents.’

Draco’s face is sad when he nods at James, a way of thanking him for his words. He holds out his hand to the young Potter. James looks at it before pushing himself to move, to shake Draco’s hand. 

‘If you ever want to know the full story of what happened - when you’re ready for it - don’t hesitate to either send me an owl or step into this office. Anytime,’ Draco offers and James nods.

‘I’ll let you further your conversation now,’ James flashes Scorpius a small smile, before he takes his hand off his arm. ‘Oh and Mr. Malfoy,’ he turns back before exiting the door. ‘Thank you. Thank you for coming to warn my parents.’ But that’s all he can think of to say before he rushes out of the office. 

* * *

‘Are you okay?’ Scorpius walks into the waiting room, looking less stressed and anxious than he did before. 

James stands up and rushes over to him. He carefully turns his head to the side so his face is visible in the light. There’s a bruise forming on the side of his face. 

‘What happened?’ James’ voice is gentle, sounding a lot like Albus from Scorpius’ reality. Albus from back home. He tries to swallow the lump forming in his throat when he thinks about his Albus. 

‘My dad- Well not really my dad, but still, eh-’ Scorpius starts fiddling with the sleeves of his sweater, his habit when he gets nervous James has noticed. ‘He eh- Kind of got really angry when I asked him if he was behind all these attacks on the muggles. He then- He kind of slammed me into his- into his desk.’ 

‘Do you want me to heal that?’ James asks.

‘If you- I mean, if you want to, I’d- Yes, please?’ 

'Are you sure? It does make you look tough,' James jokes and Scorpius chuckles softly, but the smile on his face does not reach his eyes.

James gets out his wand, using a healing charm on Scorpius, the soft and warm glow of the magic spreading through his face as the bruise completely disappears. 

'That was not your father,' James says as he catches Scorpius' gaze again. 'He's not your real father, not the one from your world. Do not forget that.'

‘I know. Thank you. Do you use healing spells often?’ Scorpius asks, his grey eyes curiously looking into James’.

He nods, biting down on his lower lip as he puts his wand away. ‘I use it when no one’s looking. They do bad things to people, Malfoy. I try to help these poor innocent people as best as I can. Though I will never feel like I’m doing enough to help them.’ He sighs. ‘Let’s get back to Hogwarts. The ministry has eyes and ears everywhere.’

It’s not until they get back on Hogwarts ground and are outside that they start talking again. As they’re walking the grounds side by side, Scorpius glances at James and he clears his throat. 

‘Do you like being here? I mean - here at this school with all these supporters of Voldemort?’ Scorpius asks, shrinking in himself as if he’s scared that James might snap at him. Even though he had seen a totally different side of James in the past few hours. 

James looks at the blonde, his eyes narrowed, taking him in. Wondering if this boy can really be trusted, because if he tells him the truth and it turns out he has been playing a game with him all along, he will get in serious trouble. 

‘Listen, Scorpius,’ Scorpius sighs in relief at James using his first name, for the first time since they have been talking. ‘If I’m going to trust you, I need to be a 100% sure that it’s the right thing. If I tell you something and it turns out you’re fooling me - that you’re playing a game with me - I will get in serious trouble. Now I don’t want to threaten you, I really don’t, but I will do anything to keep my brother safe. Therefore I have to keep myself safe and I will.’

‘It really does sound like you’re threatening me,’ Scorpius squeals, a bit uneasy. 

James chuckles lightly, but pulls a straight face as soon as he realizes it. ‘Yes. I guess I am threatening you. But I just want you to know that.’

‘I understand,’ Scorpius says, nodding his head. ‘I too would do anything to keep Albus safe.’

James nods. Then his face engages in a smile. A smile, creating little wrinkles around his eyes and grooves in his cheeks. He’s smiling, something he hadn’t done in so long. He never really had a reason to. Seeming as he has no real friends at the school, Albus is distant and they don’t talk much and he hasn’t gotten any other family around him. 

‘No,’ James then says, his smile fading away. ‘No, I don’t like it here. I actually hate it here. I truly hate it. See, Albus was really young when our parents died. He was too young to really remember them. But I do, I remember my father hugging me. I remember my mother’s smile, the sound of her laughter. The way she’d hold me before bedtime, the touch of her lovingly stroking my hair. I remember how she told me to never stop believing, to always be good, to believe that there’s something out there worth fighting for. That good always outweighs the bad. To keep an eye out for Albus, to make sure my little brother is safe. Not everything is as clear as it was, it's like it fades with time that passes. But it's there and it's one of the few things that keep me going.’

James takes off his glasses. He rubs his eyes and takes a few deep breaths. 

‘To survive this place, I had to pretend to be someone else to fit in. I had to become the worst version of myself to show people around here that they can’t mess with me. I’ve done things that I’m not proud of and I probably will have to do things that I really don’t want to do. But I will, because my little brother is out there and he needs me.’

‘I’m sorry James,’ Scorpius tries to swallow the lump forming in his throat, coming to a halt near the hut that used to be Hagrid’s. ‘I’m really sorry for all of this. It’s all my fault.’ He drops his face in his hands as he apologizes to James over and over again.

‘It’s okay,’ James says, placing his hand on Scorpius’ shoulder, softly squeezing it. ‘I will help you. I will help you try to save your world. To set things back to the way they were. If it means my parents will be alive, Lily Luna is born and Albus gets a better life than he has in this world, I will do anything to help you.’

Scorpius looks up, his eyes wide in surprise. A smile touches the corners of his mouth, his eyes lighting up and for a moment James thinks he might hug him. ‘Thank you, James. Thank you so much. I have the time turner. We just have to-’

‘Slow down. If we’re going to do this, we need help. We need to go somewhere safe where we are completely sure they can’t overhear our conversation. I know the right people that will help us, but you need to give me a bit of time to arrange that. Okay?’ 

Scorpius nods and James can see the relief washing over his face and a thought occurs to him. 

‘Hey Scorpius, are we friends in this other reality of yours?’ 

‘Not really. You can be very intimidating. Those stares that you give me, gives me shivers. You don’t like me that much.’

‘What a dick,’ James mumbles, shaking his head. ‘You ought to knock some sense into me. Because honestly, you might be one of the nicest people I have ever met.’

Scorpius chuckles. 'I will do that as soon as I get back. How much time do you think you'll need? If I may ask.'

'Tomorrow night is the Blood Ball. Everyone will be in the Great Hall, celebrating, dancing and drinking. I hope to get everything running during the event. We will just have to get through half a day of school and the start of the ball first. Then hopefully the next day we'll be ready to go back in time to fix all of this.'

'The Blood Ball,' Scorpius whispers as he hits his forehead. 'I had completely forgotten about that. Will you go to the Blood Ball with me?'

James frowns as he looks at Scorpius, who's eyes go wide as soon as he realizes what he said.

'I don't mean- I mean not as a date. Just together, you know? So we can look out for each other. Not as a date.'

James chuckles as he shakes his head. James doesn't need anyone to look out for him. He knows Scorpius is asking because he needs James to looks out for him. 'Sure, of course. I'll be there by your side.'

Scorpius wants to walk back to the castle, to get ready for dinner, but James stops him. 

‘One thing,’ James says and the boy turns back to him. ‘You have been doing the Voldemort & Valour greeting the wrong way all this time.’ 

Scorpius grunts as he looks at his hands. ‘I can’t do it. My brain can’t wrap itself around the right movements. I’ve just been mirroring the people in front of me.’

‘I’ll teach you. We can’t have anyone suspect you for odd behavior now, can we?’

‘I feel like half the school has been suspecting me for odd behavior,’ Scorpius mumbles as he stands next to James. 

‘Let me say it like this, we can’t have even more people suspect you from odd behavior. Okay. So left hand over right hand.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I truly hope you enjoyed the second of six chapter of this new Dark AU fic.  
> I'd love to hear your thoughts on it so feel free to leave a comment, no matter how small. Thank you so much for reading!
> 
> The next update will be this Friday!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before reading this please do know this story is set in the Dark AU from Cursed Child. Which means there's mention of death and trauma, there's violence and there will be scenes in which characters will use the Cruciatus Curse. In this chapter it will be quite graphic, so please be warned and please be safe.
> 
> This fic is Not Cursed Child Compliant though I did try to slip in some of my favorite moments and lines.

**Day 2:** A World of Darkness

James walks through the dungeons, the words of Draco Malfoy still echoing inside of his mind. 

_'I would have never harmed your parents. That night I was there to warn them.'_

All those years he was convinced it had been Draco Malfoy that had been leading the death eaters that came to their house to kill his parents. His face had haunted him during his nightmares, his daydreams and in those early years he'd see it everywhere he went. He had accused an innocent man of a crime he didn't commit, a man that he actually owed his life to.

_‘I’m sorry, James. I really am. I wish I could have gotten there sooner. If I could have been faster-’_

He had cut him off as fast as he could. He doesn't want to think of the scenario that would have unfolded if Draco Malfoy did come in time - if he had arrived sooner. He doesn't want to think about what his life would look like if his parents were still alive. He doesn't- But he can't help doing it anyway and it breaks him. His shoulders are heavy, as is his heart.

He didn't lie when he told Draco Malfoy that he'd do anything to spend another minute with his parents. To see his mother's eyes, remembering them other than how he'd seen them in those chilling, horrible moments after she had fallen. To hear his father's voice as he read them a bed time story, soft and gentle, not the shouting he remembered when the death eaters were coming up to the house and he warned his wife.

Albus. He's going to have to tell Albus about his conversation with Draco Malfoy. He knows his brother doesn't like to talk about his parents and about what happened to them. But he can't make the same mistake of holding out information about something so important, not again. James takes in a shaky breath, balling his hands into fists, willing them to stop shaking. He's startled by a group of students that come out of one of the rooms. They're loud as they're laughing and shouting at each other. James steps aside, nodding at them in a way of greeting as they walk past him. One of the boys claps James on his shoulder.

'James Potter!' he greets him, his hand still on James' shoulder, shaking him. 'What are you doing down here this late in the evening? Trying to find some relief and distraction?'

'I don't think the one in that room can take any more,' another student jokes.

A shiver runs down James' spine but he tries his best to keep his face blank, not showing the students any kind of emotion. He shrugs the hand off his shoulder.

'I don't think it's any of your business what I'm doing down here. So I'm asking you to move along and let me to it,' James answers and the student closes to him takes a step back, his hands up in the air.

Before any of the guys can say anything else, he walks off. Eyeing the room where the students just came out of. He waits for them to walk out of the dungeons before he enters the room. It's quiet except for a soft whining sound coming from one of the corners of the room. James' eyes have to adjust to the dark room and he blinks a few times. Pushing his glasses further up his nose. His eyes find someone sitting in the corner, two eyes look into his. The terror in the boy's eyes make James' heart sink. He wants to approach the boy, but he crawls further back into the corner, trying to get as far away from James as possible.

'I'm not here to hurt you,' James whispers softly, his hands up in the air.

He doesn't blame the boy for trying to get away from him. He's a Hogwarts student, his uniform is reason enough for the boy to not trust him especially because a group of students with the exact same uniform just came out of this exact room - after hurting the boy.

'What's your name?' James asks, lowering to the same height as the boy, tilting his head.

But the boy doesn't answer. James slowly moves forward on his knees, his hands still in the air.

'I can promise you that I am not here to hurt you. Are you hurt?'

The boy nods slowly, facing James now. His face is dirty but a pair of bright blue eyes look back into James'. He's young - James' age.

'Where?' James sits down cross-legged in front of him.

The boy mimics James' position after a while, sitting cross-legged oppose him now. Bruises cover his arms, there's a big bruise that covers the left side of his jaw and his nose is bleeding. It feels like James' heart stops beating at the sight of him. He has seen a lot of the people that are locked up in the Dungeons, but he will never get used to seeing people beat up like this boy.

'Will you let me help you?' James reaches his hand out to him, pleading with him to say yes. To let him help the boy. 'Please, will you let me help you heal your wounds?'

The boy sits still, his eyes locked onto James. Taking in the wizard in front of him. The wizard in the death eater uniform that's offering to help him. Probably trying to figure out if he can trust him. Then, slowly but surely, he raises his arm - flinching from the pain it brings him. He gently puts his hand into James' and nods. 

'I'm going to reach for my wand, okay?'

The boy flinches away as he sees James' wand, pulling back his hand to his chest. His eyes full of fear and terror and it breaks James' heart.

'I won't hurt you,' James repeats again. 'I'm not going to hurt you. I promise you.'

He moves very slowly, the blue eyes following his every move. James whispers a few soft words, a spell that stop the bleeding, one that cleans up his face from the dried up blood and dirt. The bruise on his jaw disappears and when he starts on the arms of the boy, his voice breaks the silence.

'Evan,' the boy whispers as he looks at the bruises healing. 'My name is Evan.'

'I'm so sorry, Evan. That you have to go through this,' James' voice is soft, threatening to break. 'I promise you that I will do anything I can to help you, all of you. I will change this world, I _can_ change this world.' The latter he's telling himself rather than the boy. He has a chance to change the world, together with Scorpius, one that he can not waste.

Evan doesn't say anything, he just looks at James. When he looks up in his eyes, his blue eyes finding James' brown eyes, he just stares. Sadness in his eyes, but a hint of hope, just that little spark. Hope that James' promise isn't an empty one, that he _will_ help him.

'I promise you I will try and help you as best as I can,' he holds out his hand toward the boy after pocketing his wand again. 'You have my word.'

Evan looks at James' hand for a while, before looking back up into his eyes again. A small, hopeful smile appears on his face and James' breath catches in his throat at the sight of it. Even after all the pain these people have brought upon him, after everything he has been through, there was a smile on his face. He puts his hand in James' and for a moment they sit there, shaking each other's hands, a promise being made in between the two of them.

He'd do anything to help Evan, to help all these people. He'd do anything to change this world, to change this world into one where Voldemort doesn't rule. A world where these people are safe. A world where they don't get hurt.

* * *

**Day 3:** A World of Darkness

Albus has his back to Scorpius when he enters the dorm and he halts in the opening of the door. Not sure whether to enter, afraid for what’s awaiting him. Afraid to see Albus’ eyes full of hatred, his face scrunched up in anger as soon as he looks at Scorpius. 

'Have you seen my tie?' Albus asks when he catches sight of Scorpius in the door opening.

'Why don't you go ask Karl?' Scorpius mumbles, immediately regretting it. 

'Are you jealous?' Albus asks, an amused smile on his face as he looks up at Scorpius. 

‘Why would I be jealous?’ He curses at himself for the high pitch in his voice as he speaks.

Albus looks at him, leaning against one of the bedposts, his arms crossed in front of his chest. What do you want, Malfoy?'

'Don't talk to me like that,' Scorpius says. 'I wouldn't be here talking to you if it wasn't important.'

'Oh I'm sorry,' Albus takes a deep bow, his hand on his chest and a fake innocent look on his face. 'Scorpion King, it's a great honor to be in your presence. To what do I owe the pleasure?'

Scorpius walks up to Albus. 'Albus, can you just stop being such a complete asshole?' he says through his gritted teeth.

Albus looks up at him, a spark in his eyes that Scorpius had not yet seen - challenging him. 'Make me.'

For a moment they're looking at each other, as if in a stare down. Not wanting to be the first to look away - or walk away. A smirk forms on Albus' lips and Scorpius can feel his breath catch in his throat. 

‘Also since when do you call me Al-’

‘Why aren’t we friends?’ the question had left Scorpius’ lips before he realized what he was asking. 

The smirk on Albus’ face disappears and he takes a step back. 

‘Why do you hate me so much? Did I do something?’ 

Albus’ face flushes as he looks back up at Scorpius. His eyes fierce and angry, a deep frown on his forehead. 

‘What kind of game are you playing, Malfoy?’ Albus hisses at him. 

‘I’m not playing a game here, Albus. I’m genuinely asking you what happened between the two of us that has made you so hateful towards me.’

Albus turns away from him as he laughs out loud, a joyless sound that makes Scorpius cringe. Albus’ laugh is one of his favorite sounds in the world, so hearing him laugh like this is the worst. 

‘I don’t understand where you got the courage from to ask _me_ what happened between us,’ Albus turns back, his brown eyes that are usually warm and kind- are distant and cold. ‘Especially since you’re-’ he points at Scorpius. ‘-the one that left. You were my best friend and you left me. You decided that I just wasn’t the right person for you and you turned your back on me. Replaced me with your other friends, replaced me with Yann. What do they- what does he have that I don’t? Because after all these months, I still don’t understand why you did what you did,’ he takes in a deep breath, trying to steady himself - as if trying to keep his emotions in check. He rubs his face with his hands, hiding behind them as he takes in a deep breath. ‘I still don’t understand why you just pushed me aside like that.’

Scorpius’ limbs are heavy, as if gravity is threatening to pull him down. Albus is wringing his hands, even in this world he’s wringing his hands when he’s nervous or when he can feel his anger flare up. It takes everything in Scorpius not to reach out and take those hands in his. 

‘It surely couldn’t have been because you thought I wouldn’t understand how you’d feel when your mum died. Sure, I might not know what it’s like to lose a parent at an older age. But I can assure you that I know what it’s like to grow up without parents. I know that it hurts and I know that sometimes you just long for a mother who puts her arms around you, pulls you close and tells you that everything’s going to be okay. Not having that- It’s lonely, it’s cold and it’s the worst. But I can’t imagine that would be the reason that you’d put me aside? So what was it Scor?’ 

Scorpius looks up, surprised at hearing the nickname the Albus from his world always uses and seeing from Albus’ face, he is as surprised as Scorpius. 

‘Was it because you thought that your father killed my parents? Because you didn’t want to tell me? Was it because I’m a Potter, because my parents were wanted and eventually killed. Because you didn’t want to be seen with me anymore? Or-’ Albus’ voice dies down. His breathing is shallow. The sight of his best friend hurts. It breaks his heart even though it’s not Albus from his world. It’s still Albus and he’s hurting. 

Scorpius wants to reach out to Albus, but he steps back. Looking from Scorpius’ hand back to his face. 

‘I don’t know what kind of game you’re playing with me.’ Albus’ voice is soft and he sounds and looks incredibly vulnerable - especially after seeing him being smug and tough during the time Scorpius has spend in this world. ‘Because I beg of you to stop.’

‘I’m not playing any games, Albus. I can promise you that,’ Scorpius whispers, holding his hands up in the air. ‘I was genuinely wondering because I’m not who you think I am. I’m not the Scorpion King. I’m not the Scorpius Malfoy that you know. I’m from another universe, another world-’

‘What the fuck,’ Albus whispers, more to himself than to Scorpius. ‘Are you actually kidding me? Do you really believe that I will just stand here and listen to all of this nonsense? I think it’s best if we just go back to completely ignoring each other, because I really don’t have time for this. I've got classes to go to and a boyfriend to find. So if you will excuse me-’

Albus wants to pass Scorpius to walk back to his bed, but he grabs his arm. ‘Albus, I _need_ you to listen to me.’

‘I need you to stop touching me!’ Albus yells, shoving Scorpius away from him. ‘You have no right to tell me what to do - to tell me that I should listen to you!’

The door swings open and James is standing in the door opening. His tie hanging loose around his neck and his blouse buttoned up the wrong way. He looks at Albus, whose face is flushed from anger, to Scorpius who looks mortified. 

‘I heard shouts, what is going on in here? Why are you yelling?’

‘I wanted to tell Albus the truth about who I am, that I’m not from here and-’

‘Wait,’ Albus interrupts him as he looks at James. ‘What is this? You don’t mean to tell me that this is why you two have been huddling up together in the Gryffindor tower? You don’t mean to tell me that you _believe_ whatever he has been saying?’

‘Albus-’

‘No!’ Albus yells as he walks up to his brother. ‘No, James! He has been lying to me all these years. His father might not have killed our parents but he has been using me and then when he decided it was enough he dropped me. He-’

‘I know, Albus. I know,’ James’ voice is gentle and soft as he cups Albus’ cheeks with his hands. ‘But I really do need you to listen to him. Please just hear him out for me?’

Albus takes in a sharp breath as he takes a step back, away from James whose arms fall to his side. He gives a small nod, agreeing to listen to whatever Scorpius has to say. Scorpius tells Albus about the other world. He tells him everything he has told James, not leaving out any detail because he wants the boy to believe him - badly. To know that he’s not the Scorpius that has done those awful things. Hoping that Albus won’t look at him the way he has been doing the past days, because it breaks Scorpius’ heart. 

‘-and then I lost Albus when we got into the lake and I travelled through time by myself. Having to use Engorgio on Cedric and go back again. I ended up in the lake outside in this world. This world full of darkness and-’ he shivers, not being able to find the right words to describe this world. ‘That’s how I got here. I’m not the Scorpius that you know. I’m not the Scorpius that has done those horrible things to you. Though I am terribly sorry that those-’

‘That’s enough,’ Albus cuts him off, not planning on talking about his situation with the Scorpius in this world. _Pulling up his walls again_ , is the only thing James can think as he watches Albus close off. His arms hugging his chest, almost as if he’s trying to literally keep himself together, his eyes distant as he’s chewing on his bottom lip. 

‘This doesn’t change anything. I still don’t know you and I’m sure your world is lovely and it must be really nice to have your Albus at your side, but that’s not me. I’m not that Albus, I’m not your friend and I don’t want anything to do with this.’

‘Albus-’ 

‘James, I listened to him. Just like you asked me to. But we both know that if we get caught running around with someone from a different world, one where Voldemort doesn’t rule, the consequences will be grand. I think we both know what those consequences are and-’ Albus’ voice breaks while thinking of the horrible punishments his brother and him have had to face for simply asking about their parents. Just because they wanted to know a bit more about the parents they had never really gotten to know. ‘I don’t want that. I’m not ready to risk that to help someone I don’t know.’

‘Our parents are alive in that other world, Albus. We have a little sister in that other world. Her name is-’

‘Enough!’ Albus yells. His face is flushed with anger, his eyes fierce as he looks from Scorpius, back to James. ‘Enough. I don’t want to hear anything about this other world and about how great it is.’

James knows he doesn’t want to know anything about it because Albus doesn’t want to get his hopes up. From the two of them Albus might have struggled with their parents death the most, especially because he hasn’t been able to get to know them at all. 

Albus turns around on his heels, grabs the jacket from his bed. ‘I beg of you James, don’t get caught up with this. Don’t get your hopes up. I don’t want you to get hurt,’ his voice is genuine as he halts in front of James for a few seconds before storming out of the room. 

‘That didn’t go well,’ Scorpius whispers as he sits down on the bed. 

‘Give him some time,’ James mumbles, but he can’t get Albus voice out of his head. _I think we both know what those consequences are_ , his brother had said and he was right. They both knew how hard and how relentless the teachers - especially the Headmistress - can be when it comes to punishing students that do not obey.

He clenches his jaw as he thinks of the first time he and Albus had to see the Headmistress. They’d tried to get more information about their parents, about Dumbledore’s Army and everything that had happened during the War. The stories in the history books at the school were all about how Lord Voldemort had won, how no one stood a chance against him, how Harry Potter had died at the hands of Lord Voldemort himself. James and Albus knew this was wrong, he hadn't killed their father neither did he kill their mother. Someone had caught them and they had been send up to her office. She made them write down the same sentence over and over again with a special quill that she had given to them. James looks down at his hand, where the scar is visible. _I must not tell lies._ It’s still there, it’s a permanent mark that will never go away.

Scorpius catches him staring at his hand and glances toward it. ‘Did she do that? Did she do that to you both? Is that what Albus was talking about?’

James quickly hides his hand out of sight. ‘Yes, among other things. So I can’t blame Albus for not wanting to risk getting caught again.’

* * *

'Just try your best not to get caught or attract too much attention, okay?' James mumbles as he points at the classroom Scorpius is supposed to enter.

'I'm late for class, all the attention is going to be on me already.'

James sighs. He takes his glasses off and rubs his eyes. 'You should have come to me straight away instead of trying to find the classroom by yourself first. Now go!'

'I don't know if I can do this, James,' Scorpius looks at James who puts his glasses back on. 'I've never been late to class before.'

James sighs and closes his eyes for a moment. 'I can't believe this. You're in an entirely different world, where you're supposed to be this really dangerous and tough person that really likes to torture innocent people and you're scared because you're late for class.'

'I mean- This isn’t a bad class is it?’ Scorpius looks from the door up to James. 

James hesitates a moment to long and Scorpius gulps. ‘Do I have to torture someone? Do I have to use horrible spells on people? Because I don’t think I can do that, James.’

‘It’s Dark Arts, Scorpius. I’m very sorry, but you’re going to have to put on your best Scorpion King front and get through this.’

‘Dark Arts? Is that what happened to Defense Against the Dark Arts? They now study the Dark Arts?’

James nods and softly pushes Scorpius towards the door. ‘You’re very late. You really have to go in now. Remember play it cool, the Scorpion King doesn’t care.’

Scorpius nods, straightening his black coat as he takes in a deep breath. He opens the door and as soon as he walks in, all eyes are on him. The group of students are standing in a half circle, the teacher at the front, a woman Scorpius does not recognize.

'Mister Malfoy, how lovely of you to join us. I was just about to ask for a volunteer. You came at the exact right time,' she says, her voice high-pitched, hurting his ears a little.

'Eh-' he walks up to the half circle of students, working his way up to the front. 'With what exactly?'

'In this class we're practicing the torture spell, Crucio. The students here told me you know all about that spell.'

Scorpius looks at some of the students, some smiling at him, some averting their eyes as soon as his find theirs. He swallows at the sound of the spell, freezing in place. Dark Arts. Of course they would practice dark spells.

'I think I'll pass,' Scorpius eventually says, his voice way too high. He clears his throat. 'I mean, I already know this spell. I don't want to seem like a brag. Why not let anyone else try it?'

He raises his eyebrows at the teacher, trying to look tough, challenging her. But she narrows her eyes and points at the spot at the front of the group, urging him to come up. He catches Albus' eyes, but he can't read him. His face expression blank and his body completely still. Scorpius takes a deep, shaky breath as he takes place at the front of the group. His eyes finding a young man that's bound by magic on his knees, his eyes wide as he looks up in Scorpius' eyes. Pleading with him to not use the spell, to not make him go through that horrible pain. Merlin knows how many times he has had to endure that pain already.

Scorpius can feel tears prickling in his eyes and a lump forms in his throat. He takes his wand out of his pocket, trying to make his grip as firm as possible. Pleading for his hands to stop shaking, but they won't. He takes another deep breath as the teacher claps her hands.

'Come on, mister Malfoy. We do not have all day. Show these students how it's done so we can get back to practicing in groups.' She gestures to the young boy, his gaze still fixed on Scorpius.

Scorpius opens his mouth, but there's no sound. The boy flinches, closing his eyes. His hands up to his face, as if it will protect him from the Cruciatus Curse. Scorpius tries to swallow the lump in his throat, but it doesn't work. Sweat beads form on his forehead and his head starts to spin. His knees feel weak and he fears they will give out from under him anytime soon.

'I'm- I don't-'

'I'll do it,' a voice sounds and someone works his way through the crowd, toward Scorpius.

'Mister Potter, this is not-' the teacher wants to start but Albus cuts her off as he takes place in front of Scorpius, blocking his view of the young man in front of them.

'I'm doing it,' Albus' breathing is shallow and Scorpius can see his free hand being clenched into a tight fist, his knuckles white.

'Albus-'

'Crucio,' he calls out, his voice strong and Scorpius gasps when agonizing screams fill the classroom.

'Stop,' Scorpius whispers, reaching for Albus' arm.

But Albus doesn't respond, he's looking at the young man in front of him as he's screaming out in pain. His wand still pointed at him, but Albus is not moving.

'Albus,' Scorpius pulls his sleeve. 'Albus, stop.'

Albus stops the Cruciatus Curse with a simple flick of his wand, the screams stopping immediately. Making place for whimpering coming from the young man in front of them. Scorpius glances his way, immediately regretting it as he looks at the man laying on the floor. The image of Albus' pointing his wand at the man and the man whimpering in pain as he's laying on the floor now stuck in his mind, an image he will probably never be able to forget.

'Alright students, split up in your groups and find your subject to practice the spell on.'

Albus is unmoving, his eyes fixed on the man in front of him. Footsteps sound and someone pushes Scorpius aside, he watches Karl gently taking Albus' clenched fist in his hand. Slowly unwinding his fingers until they're intertwined with his. He looks around, searching for the teacher, before pulling Albus along with him - out of the classroom. Scorpius follows them quickly, watching the two of them come to a halt at the end of the hallway.

'Hey, look at me,' he whispers to Albus, gently cupping Albus' face with his free hand. 'You're okay. '

'Albus?' Scorpius voice is soft as he approaches the two boys.

Karl looks up, his face scrunching up in anger when he sees Scorpius approaching them.

'What the fuck man?' he spits out at Scorpius. 'What the fuck was that? The great Scorpion King couldn't use a simple spell?'

Scorpius flinches and stops in his tracks when he sees Karl moving to walk toward him, but Albus holds him back. His hand tightly grabbing onto Karl's, almost as if he's scared of letting go, of losing their connection. As if Karl's hand is the only thing keeping him grounded right now, after what just happened in the classroom.

'You know that when you don't do what the professor tells you to do there are consequences. You are very bloody lucky that Albus stepped in for you, because none of the other students would have done that. If-'

'Karl,' Albus' voice is soft as he tugs onto Karl's hand. 'It's okay. I'm okay.'

'You're not, Al. You never use that spell and- '

Albus cuts him off again, his eyes flicking toward Scorpius for a brief second before he looks back at Karl. 'Will you be able to cover for me? Tell her I'm sick and had to leave for the Hospital Wing?'

Karl frowns, his face scrunched up in worry. 'I really don't want you to be alone now. Let me come with you, I will go in and tell her I'm taking you to the Hospital Wing and we can just go out and get some fresh air. I don't even need this class-' his voice dies as Albus flinches.

He knows Karl has been using the spell on a regular base, he knows _that_ side of his boyfriend exists even though he is incredibly kind and caring when he's around Albus. He has never dared asking him to stop, to give up on that life - too afraid he will lose him when he does.

'Please?' he touches his forehead against Karl's, his eyes pleading for him to listen to him.

'Fine. But I will come looking for you straight after class,' he whispers, cupping Albus' face gently. He kisses him softly before touching their noses together. 'Be safe, okay?'

'Always,' Albus' voice is barely a whisper. 'Thank you.'

Karl slowly releases Albus, giving him a long last look before turning around. His eyes shooting daggers at Scorpius, nothing left from the Karl that first approached him when he arrived in this world. When he came up to Scorpius together with Yann - thinking he is the Scorpion King - asking if they were still on for spilling some proper mudblood guts. Though it has only been a few days, the change had been noticeable. Seeing the effect Albus has on this boy shows just what kind of a positive influence the boy with the raven black, messy hair has on people. Even in this murky world filled with darkness and hatred, he is a bright light in people's lives. Even when he doesn't even see that himself.

He certainly had been for Scorpius. Ever since he stepped into his compartment of the Hogwarts Express, on the very first day. Going to Hogwarts had been something Scorpius had looked forward to. Every day he'd check the Daily Prophet, certain some sort of tragedy would have befallen it - certain he wouldn't get to go.

But then he arrived at Platform 9 ¾ and the stares and whispers had started as he made his way toward the train, his parents on either side of him. His mothers arm protectively wrapped around his shoulder, pulling him into her side. His father pushing the cart with his trunk on it. He felt a pang in his chest at the thought of his parents and how much he misses them.

As soon as his parents had left, the taunting and the names had started. Son of Voldemort, Freak, they made up all kinds of things. But then Albus walked into his compartment - into his life. To Scorpius' surprise he decided to stay and things started to look a bit brighter, his life started to look a bit brighter. Albus had been a constant light in Scorpius' life.

Scorpius watches Karl go back inside of the classroom and when he turns, Albus is gone. He takes in a sharp breath as he looks around, walking into the direction that Albus should have gone in - seeing him disappear into the Dungeons. He steps up his pace, trying to catch up to Albus and he runs up the spiraling staircase toward the Dorm. Finding Albus taking off his black coat and blouse.

He gasps at the bruises and scars on his arms and back. Albus turns around quickly at the sound of it, surprised at the appearance of Scorpius.

'Why are you here?' he hisses as he grabs a sweater from his trunk. 'Shouldn't you be in class, keeping up the Scorpion King cover? The one you have been keeping up _so well_.' The sarcasm is dripping from his voice and Scorpius shivers slightly when he walks over to Albus' bed.

'Where did you get those scars and bruises from?' Scorpius asks him directly, pointing at his arm. Trying his best not to reach out to grab hold of his hand. Albus doesn’t reply and Scorpius wants to open his mouth to ask him again, before remembering his conversation with James yesterday.

_Scorpius catches him staring at his hand and glances toward it. ‘Did she do that? Did she do that to you both? Is that what Albus was talking about?’_

_James quickly hides his hand out of sight. ‘Yes, among other things. So I can’t blame Albus for not wanting to risk getting caught again.’_

_Among other things_ , James had said. 'Did she do that? Did the headmistress do that?'

'Mind your own business, Malfoy.'

'You're my best fr-' Scorpius cuts off his words when Albus looks up at him. 'I know you don't like me, Albus. But I'm here to help. I want to fix this mess. Please just-' he swallows before taking in a deep breath. 'Please just let me in?'

'We're not friends,' Albus says, the sweater crumbling in his hands, balled up into fists. 'I see no point in letting you _in_. You're here to fix this because you're the one who created this mess in the first place.'

Scorpius takes a step back, feeling as if he has just been punched in his stomach. His hands fiddling with the sleeves of his coat. His eyes cast to the ground, scared to look back up into Albus' eyes. Not sure if he can keep in the tears forming in his eyes if he does and he'd see the angry look he had become familiar with, ever since he stepped foot into this world. Albus is right, he is the one that created this mess in the first place, so of course he has to be the one to fix it.

Albus sighs. 'I'm sorry, that was really harsh and I shouldn't have said that. It's just- I told you I don't want to hear anything else about this other world. I don't want to get involved in this because the consequences will be worse than you can imagine. These scars and bruises are what I have to deal with because I refuse to use the Cruciatus Curse on innocent people.'

Scorpius looks back at the bruises and scars, feeling his stomach turn when he thinks about the horrible pain Albus must endure every time he refuses to do as they say and use the curse on people. But he did use the curse, he had just used the curse on the young man in the classroom. ‘Then why did you do it just now? Why did you just jump in like that?’

‘Because you weren’t going to do it and you were about to blow up your whole cover **and** drag James down with you!’ Albus looks at him, his eyes fierce, making Scorpius take a step back. ‘I don’t want my brother getting into trouble.’

‘I would have done it,’ Scorpius says, trying to sound sure of his case even though he knows he wouldn’t have been able to do it.

‘No, you wouldn’t,’ Albus’ voice is soft as pulls the sweater over his head. His hair getting even messier from the fabric being pulled down over it. ‘You wouldn’t have done it so you don’t have to pretend or try to act tough around me. Because I know what that first time is like. I’d say it gets easier - but I’d be lying, it doesn’t get easier. I remember the first time they made me do it,’ A shiver runs through Albus’ spine as he thinks back. ‘It took me a while before I was able to refuse to do it ever again and I'd be lying if I said I don't feel like giving in and just- just doing it. Just so the pain stops,' he runs his hands over his left arm. 'So when I saw you standing there, I knew I had to stop it. Because once you do it - once you say that word - you can never go back. It haunts you, not only in your dreams, but when you’re awake. Every second of every day. The way it makes you feel to point your wand at a person, the screams, the knowledge that you're bringing someone such intense pain that they beg you to kill them-' his voice cuts off and he turns away from Scorpius, pretending to fold his shirt.

Scorpius releases the breath he didn't realize he had been holding in. 'I didn't know that.'

'Of course you didn't. You've only been around for a few days,' Albus voice is harsh and he rubs his face, continuing with a kinder tone. 'Everyone knows I don't use that spell. The teachers are the worst, some like to give us the assignment just because they know they can hand out a punishment. I hoped I could shift their attention from your refusal to me using the Cruciatus Curse for the first time in years. So that's why I did it. That's why I jumped in like that.’

'I'm so incredibly sorry, Albus.

'It's okay,' Albus shrugs. 'I can take it. It's not like it's going to be the last time that I will have to do something like this. I'll survive.'

Scorpius sighs as he walks up to Albus. 'I'm going to fix this Albus. I know you don't want to hear anything about this, which is fine. But I just want you to know that I'm going to do everything I can to fix this.'

Albus sighs as he shakes his head. 'Wake up, Scorpius. There's nothing to fix or to save. You might as well just give in now and accept that this is the world you are now living in.'

'Albus, can you just stop being so negative? There is a way to save my world and I'm going to do it. I'd love to do it with your help, but-'

'I'm really not going to talk about this again, Malfoy.'

Scorpius cringes at hearing Albus call him by his last name again.

'You do what you have got to do, I don't care. But I'm not going to be part of it and frankly I'd love it if you would stop dragging my brother into this as well. I've heard enough. You should probably head back to your classes before you completely blow everything.'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I truly hope you enjoyed the third of six chapter of this new Dark AU fic.  
> I'd love to hear your thoughts on it so feel free to leave a comment, no matter how small. Thank you so much for reading!
> 
> The next update will be next Monday, because I'm in Paris for the weekend!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I have put a warning up on every chapter before this one. But please do remember before reading this that this story is set in the Dark AU from Cursed Child. Which means there's mention of death and trauma, there's violence and there will be scenes in which characters will use the Cruciatus Curse. In this scene someone will be making use of the Cruciatus Curse, there will be dementors and (in my opinion - which can be different for everyone) it can be very descriptive. Note this before starting the chapter.

**Day 3:** World of Darkness

'Okay,' James whispers as they walk into the Great Hall together. 'We just need to be among the crowd for at least an hour-'

'At least an hour?!' Scorpius' voice cracks as he looks at James. 'I have to pretend to be the Scorpion King among all of these students for _a whole hour_?'

James sighs before turning to Scorpius, his hand on his shoulder. 'You got this. I will come find you as soon as we can leave.'

'Wait, are you telling me you won't be staying with me?'

'We need to attract as less attention as we possibly can,' James says as he takes a step back from Scorpius, staring down two students that were looking at them. 'We have already been attracting a lot of attention lately. We have to get this right, Scorpius. We can't let anything happen.'

Scorpius lets out a frustrated groan as he throws his head back. 'But you said you would come to the Blood Ball with me!'

'Come on. You sound like a 8-year old,' James puts his hands on Scorpius' shoulders. 'I said I was coming to the Blood Ball with you indeed and that's what I've done. I didn't say we were going to be dancing all night. Straighten those shoulders, back straight and chin up high. You got this.'

Even though Scorpius knows James is right, it doesn't sit right with him to have to spend two hours on his own - at the Blood Ball. He takes in a deep breath as he watches James walk away and disappear into the crowd. He looks around, the Great Hall is transformed into a Ballroom, but nothing like the ones you'd see in the movies. It's dark, murky and sinister. A shiver runs down Scorpius' spine as he drags himself into the Great Hall, into the crowd of people.

He tugs on his sleeves, trying to hide his hands in them. Feeling himself shrink into himself with every glance from one of the Hogwarts student. The nerves settling in his stomach when he thinks people are coming up to him, only to walk past him - shortly greeting him on their way. But no one seems to be brave enough to start a conversation with _The Scorpion King_ and though it's sad that so many people are intimidated or scared for one person, Scorpius is quite thankful for it. It means he can hopefully just hide in a corner for two hours and-

'Hey,' a voice sounds from behind him.

Scorpius squeals and turns around fast, his hands up in defense. Yann is standing in front of him, his face a mixture of surprise and amusement.

'Yann!' Scorpius yells out in surprise, startled by the volume of his own voice. 'Yann. Hi. Hey, how are you?' he punches Yann's upper arm and forces a smile on his face.

'I'm great,' Yann frowns and scrunches his nose in confusion. 'Are _you_ okay?'

Scorpius nods, way too enthusiastically. 'I'm great. Amazing. Isn't this such a scary party?'

Yann coughs in his hand, no doubt to cover up his laughter - as Scorpius can see the smile on his face. He narrows his eyes at the boy in front of him who quickly seems to recover at the sight of it, his face turning red. Scorpius instantly feels bad because he doesn't know if it's out of fear that he might get angry or just because he got caught trying to cover up his laughter.

'Are you having fun?' Scorpius asks, trying to make himself audible over the music that's now blasting through the speakers. 

Yann takes a step closer toward Scorpius, his hand lightly resting on his elbow as he leans in, so he doesn't have to shout to make himself audible. Scorpius can feel his breath catch in his throat when he can feel Yann's breath tickle his skin. 'I'll be having way more fun if you come and get a drink with me.'

Scorpius nods, having lost his voice from the lack of distance between the two of them. He can feel Yann intertwining his fingers with Scorpius' and he tugs at his arm, telling him to follow him. Scorpius lets him pull him through the crowd of people towards one of the tables in the back, where it's a bit more quiet - away from the floating speakers. Yann grabs two cups and pours a bright red drink into it, offering one to Scorpius. He smells the sweetness of the drink and sends a questioning look Yann's way, who laughs.

'Don't worry, it's got no alcohol. Headmistress Umbridge's security detail has been very strict. I don't think anyone's had the chance to spike any of the punch yet,' he gently takes Scorpius' hand again, pulling him along to one of the benches.

They both sit down and quietly drink their punch, listening to the music and watching all the other students dance. Scorpius glances sideways to Yann, a smile resting on his face and his eyes glistening in the light reflecting on the disco balls floating in the air. He finishes the rest of his drink, setting down the cup and leaning against the back rest. His eyes finding Scorpius' and his smile broadening when he sees him looking back. Yann reaches out for Scorpius' free hand, pulling it in his lap as he runs his fingertips over the palm to the soft skin of his wrist and back again. It tickles and Scorpius can't help but giggle softly before taking another sip to hide it.

'Yann,' he turns toward Yann when he puts his empty cup down. 'I was just thinking, how long have we really been friends?'

Yann purses his lips as he thinks for a few seconds. 'Ever since the start of the third year.'

'Forgive me for being forgetful and all. You know, my brain works over hours and it's a true mess up there and I'm sorry for asking-' his voice dies down when Yann softly kisses the back of his hand, smiling back at him. 'I'm- eh-'

'You were rambling again,' Yann says softly. 'You told me to cut you off whenever you start rambling. What were you going to ask?'

'How long has this been going on between us now?'

'Only for like two months,' Yann answers as he sits up straight. 'I mean you were always very openly flirting with me but I guess I was just too stupid to actually see that. Or maybe I was just too scared to see it- I mean, that I, you know-'

'That you liked boys?'

'Yes, that I also like boys. It's not something that's encouraged at home. My parents are very old fashioned. I still don't know how they'd react if I'd told them about me- about us,' he averts his eyes.

Scorpius looks at the boy next to him. Yann who came up to him that first day confident and enthusiastic, asking if they were still on for torturing innocent people. But he wonders how much of that is an act, how much of that Yann is just him trying to hide his true self. Because he's afraid to show people who he really is, what he really believes in. Scorpius looks around at the student, wondering how many of these children were forced to believe in the same beliefs their parents have. That torturing people, looking down on people that are not purebloods, is okay. He wonders how many of these teenagers would actually think it's not okay if they weren't influenced by their parents and the other adults in their surroundings. He can't ignore what they have done - what they're still doing in the dungeons to those innocent people. But when he looks back at Yann, he looks like a vulnerable and very easily influenced teenager. A teenager that's scared to be and show others who he really is.

'Hey,' Scorpius takes hold of Yann's hand, tugging on it until he looks at him. 'This is who you are and you shouldn't be afraid or ashamed of that. You love who you love and no one can tell you not to do that. No one can tell you what to do or what you can't do. Don't let other people tear down what you believe in. Don't let other people force you to do things that you don't want to do. You are in control of your own actions, your own beliefs and your own happiness. Don't throw that away because other people want to take that away from you, because you're afraid to take that control and to take matters into your own hands. I know it's scary and it's not going to be easy. But it's going to be worth it.'

Yann looks up at Scorpius, releasing a breath he had been holding. His shoulder slumping as he nods at Scorpius, as if a weight has been lifted of it.

'You're right. As always,' a smile reaches his eyes. 'You're right, I should take control of my own life. Do what I want to do rather than what they tell me to do and do you know what I want to do?'

He leans toward Scorpius who is staying still, not daring to move. He can smell the sweetness of the drink on the boy's breath as their eyes lock onto each other. He grabs both of Scorpius' hands in his before pecking his cheek softly.

'I want to dance with my boyfriend.'

He pulls Scorpius up by his hands and pulls him toward the dance floor. His smile growing wider as Scorpius stands awkwardly still, not knowing what to do or how to dance. Yann twirls him around, laughter rings through the air as Scorpius nearly trips over his own feet before the other boy steadies him again.

'You're the worst dancer,' Yann calls to him and Scorpius can feel his face flush, knowing how clumsy he gets when it comes to dancing. So he lets Yann lead him through all the dance moves, imitating him the best he can as he's keeping an eye out for James to give him the sign that it's go time.

As soon as he spots James at the edge of the dance floor, gesturing for him to leave the Great Hall, he stops dancing. He looks at Yann, his mind racing to find a proper excuse to leave him here.

'I'm just going to-' he looks around in a frenzy. 'I'm- I need some air. I will see you later, okay?'

Yann nods and smiles at him. Scorpius smiles back at him, squeezing the boy's shoulder gently before wanting to turn around. Yann quickly grabs his hand, spinning him back around and wrapping his arms around Scorpius' shoulders. Pulling him in close.

'Thank you,' Yann says, his voice genuine. 'What you said earlier, I needed to hear that. This is a cruel world and I don't want to be part of it.'

'Then don't be,' Scorpius whispers. 'Be whoever you want to be and not who they want you to be. If you don't want to be a part of this world, change that.'

* * *

James pulls Scorpius out of sight, placing his hand on his mouth to keep him from yelling out in surprise. As soon as Scorpius sees the oldest Potter, he relaxes and James lets go of him. They wait in silence for more people to pass until James pulls something out of the bag he has been carrying. It’s a silky cloak and Scorpius looks at it in surprise.

‘The invisibility cloak!’ he yelps and James shushes him. ‘I’m sorry,’ he whispers, putting a hand in front of his own mouth. 

‘We need to go outside of the castle and I need you to stay very close to me. Do not make a sound. I’ll tell you when it’s safe to talk and I need you to listen to me very closely. No matter what happens, do whatever I tell you to do. Do you understand me, Scorpius?’ his face is earnest and his voice is stern.

‘I promise,’ Scorpius mumbles from behind his hand, nodding at James. 

James pulls the invisibility cloak over the both of them, gesturing for Scorpius to come closer. He feels the boy cling onto the sleeve of his jacket when they make their way out to the front doors.

‘The Dementors will probably sense us anyway. They will sense your fear. So please try to relax yourself as much as possible,’ James whispers before they walk through the doors.

The moon is high up in the sky and it illuminates the fields of grass. James quickly moves towards the grass in the hope that it will dampen their footsteps. He hears Scorpius next to him whimper when there’s a loud howl that rings through the evening air. He extends his arm for the boy to hold on to and Scorpius gratefully takes it, hugging it close to him. James stops walking and glances sideways at Scorpius.

‘Take a deep breath. It’s just the creatures in the woods, they don’t come near the school,’ James whispers as soft as he can.

Scorpius takes in a few deep breaths until he can feel his heartbeat slow down. He nods at James as a sign that they can carry on again. They walk past the edge of the woods, towards the little shed where Hagrid lives in the other world. Scorpius can see the Whomping Willow gently swaying in the wind and the rustling of leaves from the trees in the Forbidden Forest break the silence of the quiet night. 

A chill runs through James’ body. A familiar chill. He stops walking and pulls Scorpius to a stop with him. He grabs the boys arm firmly, caching his gaze.

‘Scorpius, I need you to run and hide at the edge of the forest.’

‘What-’

‘You promised me you’d listen. I need you to go now and I need you to stay put under the cloak until I come to get you.’ 

James’ voice is soft and low, but Scorpius can hear the panic in it. That can only mean that something is wrong. Something is very wrong.

‘Go,’ he hisses and he jumps out from under the cloak. 

He listens for Scorpius’ footsteps as the boy quickly runs away from him. He straightens his jacket, broadens his shoulders and puts his chin up in the air. His fingers tightly wrapped around the wand in his pocket as he looks around, cautiously. Trying to find the source of the sudden cold that’s surrounding him. Trying to find the Dementor. He starts walking, further away from the direction Scorpius ran into, to keep them from sensing the fear that must be radiating of the boy right now. With slow and deep breaths he keeps his heartbeat steady. 

He walks towards the shed and then he hears it, the gurgling sound coming from behind him. He turns around and he’s face to face with a Dementor. A chill runs through his spine and he can feel his heart becoming heavy. 

‘I’m not doing anything wrong,’ he groans in his most threatening voice when he feels the presence of a second Dementor behind him, closing him in. ‘You’d be best to get on your way now before Headmistress Umbridge finds out what you’re doing to one of her students.’

He clenches his jaw, trying his best to think about happy thoughts, trying to keep the effect of the Dementors out of his head and body. He knows it’s useless to try and cast a Patronus for he has never been able to successfully cast one. He’s not sure if he ever will be able to cast one at all. He feels his shoulder slump under the presence of the Dementors, his body become heavy as if gravity is trying to pull him to the ground. 

‘Headmistress Umbridge-’ he groans but is interrupted.

‘-is right here,’ a high-pitched, way too cheery voice sounds as Headmistress Umbridge appears from behind one of the Dementors. ‘And they’re doing exactly as I tell them to. Make sure no students sneak out of the castle after curfew _and_ during a school event. I had been told that you did. Someone has seen you sneak away from the Blood Ball and alerted me.’

James grits his teeth, trying to work through his memory to find out who may have seen him, but his mind feels foggy. He can’t concentrate, all he feels is the sadness and cold weighing down on his shoulders. 

‘I was just going out to get some air. It’s very stuffy in the Great Hall with everyone dancing and crowding together. I felt like I needed some fresh air,’ James says, trying his best to look and sound casual - shrugging his shoulders and putting his other hand in his pocket. 

‘The thing is, people have seen you sneak off into the Gryffindor Tower as well, James Potter. I have been getting a lot of messages on suspicious behavior and of you sneaking around the castle and it's forbidden parts,’ Headmistress Umbridge twirls her wand between her fingers. ‘As well as your little brother, Albus Potter.’

James’ head jerks her way at the mention of his little brother’s name. ‘Albus hasn’t been doing anything wrong, headmistress. Those messages must be wrong.’

‘So you’re admitting that _you_ have been doing something wrong, mister Potter?’ she raises her eyebrows at him, a hint of an amused smile on her lips. 

James knows that if he can draw the attention to his actions, Albus’ might be forgotten. At least for now. But if he does admit that he has been sneaking around, she will want answers. He can’t give her that. He can’t blow Scorpius’ cover, he can’t tell her about the other world and he can’t expose the plan they have to go back in time and make sure Voldemort dies at the Battle of Hogwarts. 

‘I do not, Headmistress Umbridge. I admit I have been practicing my charm and dueling skills a lot and found that the Gryffindor Tower was perfect for that. No one cares if anything breaks there,’ James lies, his hand still tight around his wand and his other hand now on his heart, trying to make the apology look and sound heartfelt and honest. ‘Forgive me headmistress, my apologies for not asking for your permission. But I promise you that - that’s all there is.’

Headmistress Umbridge sighs and she looks around. ‘See, I agreed to let you two Potters into my school because the home you were in said you two boys had been good and very loyal to the Dark Lord in the years that you spent there. But the truth is, I never quite believed that.’ 

She flicks her wand at James and he can feel his throat tighten up. All air seems to leave his body and he can’t breathe. His hands fly up to his throat, clawing at it as his eyes grow wide. _He needs air._

‘See I never trusted a Potter in all of my life and I never will. So I don’t believe you have just been practicing your charm and your dueling skills up in that tower. Just as I don’t believe you’re out here just to get some _fresh_ _air_ ,’ she hisses at him. ‘So you can either just tell me the truth right now or-’ she flicks her wand again and James falls to his knees on the ground, gasping for air. ‘- we can do this the hard way. It’s your choice, mister _Potter_.’ She spits out his name like it’s something dirty, something contagious. 

‘Headmistress Umbridge, I promise you all I did up there-’ he manages to get out as he wills the air back into his throat but she cuts him off again with another flick of her wand.

He falls onto his back, a sharp pain coursing through his body as he looks up at the night sky. He can't move. The sky gets blocked by one of the Dementors. The gurgling sound coming from the hole - that’s supposedly it’s mouth - gives James goose bumps all over his body. He can feel all warmth slowly leave his body as he feels the Dementor starting to feed off his happiness. From far away he can hear a voice, a scream. One filled with fear and pain. But before he can make out what the voice is saying, it is gone. 

The Dementor has gone out of sight and James scrambles to his hands and knees. He can feel them shaking as he tries to force himself to get up - to stand up. He can’t show the pain and fear to Headmistress Umbridge. He’s James Sirius Potter, he needs to stand up and show her that he doesn’t fear her. That he can take it. He sways on his feet as he stands up, but manages to find his balance as he looks back up into her eyes again. 

‘I have done nothing wrong, Headmistress Umbridge. I have been practicing and nothing-’ 

'From the moment you arrived at my school, you have been spreading lies about the Dark Lord. Asking questions, getting into fights, spreading false stories,' she circles around James, he finger tracing his shoulders. No doubt trying to intimidate him.

But he keeps his back straight and his chin up in the air, not planning on giving in.

'I always should have known you were going to be a problem. I always should have known you were going to turn out a disrespectful brat, just like your father.'

'Don't speak of my father that way,' James groans, feeling an overwhelming anger towards the woman circling him for the third time.

'Your father always had a disregard for the rules, never knew how to follow them, how to obey his superiors. Your father was a brat, a liar and-'

'Stop that!' James yells as he turns toward her. 'Don't you dare-'

A flick of her wand. The air disappears from his lungs. Another flick of her wand. He falls down to his knees gasping for air. A third flick of her wand. James falls to his back and an intense, all-consuming pain coursed through every inch of his body. A pain so intense that James no longer knows where he is, a pain beyond anything he had ever experienced. White-hot knives piercing his skin, his bones are on fire. His limbs trash around as he feels his throat go sore from screaming. He isn’t sure if he has ever screamed this loudly before. He feels as if his head is going to explode any minute. 

After what feels like hours, the pain stops, though he can still feel the shock coursing through his limbs. They’re shaking and he’s afraid to move, afraid that the pain will return, that it will be even worse this time.

‘Like I said,’ Headmistress Umbridge’s voice sounds from above him. ‘You can either just tell me what you have been up to or we can keep doing this the other way. It’s truly up to you.’

‘I-’ James’ voice is hoarse from the screaming. ‘I haven’t- I didn’t-’

‘It sounds like you need a bit of cooling off. Perhaps the Dementor will be able to refresh your memory?’

‘No,’ his voice is barely a whisper when the Dementor comes into view again. ‘No, please.’

The intense white-hot knives are being replaced with the icy cold air coming from the Dementor. The intense cold swept all over him, deeper than his skin, it was everywhere. Inside of his lungs, inside of his heart, his head, the tips of his fingers. The fog of cold and darkness was everywhere and a piercing scream ripped right through it. His mother’s voice. Her voice, calling out for him, begging him to go upstairs. Her screams ring through his mind followed by the crying sound of his little brother. Baby Albus crying inside of his arms as he had woken him from his sleep, trying to get away from the strange men coming up the stairs. He wants to reach out to them, help them, he-

‘What’s going on?’ a voice cuts through the fog, bringing him back to reality. A familiar voice. 

‘Scorpius!’ Headmistress Umbridge greets him cheery. ‘We’ve just captured a student that was walking the grounds after curfew and during a school event.’

The Dementor floats back, behind the headmistress. James manages to tilt his head up for the slightest bit, catching Scorpius’ eyes - but they’re cold and distant and he looks away without the slightest of recognition in it.

‘What exactly has he done that you’re torturing him, headmistress Umbridge?’ Scorpius’ voice is different, it’s cold, it’s loud. Nothing like the warm, soft voice James had heard throughout the past few days. 

‘We suspect him of odd behavior. He has been sneaking around the castle, visiting the Gryffindor Tower. He says he has been practicing his charm and dueling skills up there. The poor boy actually thinks we’d believe that,’ she lets out a high-pitched giggle and Scorpius laughs along with her.

‘How about I take him off your hands, Headmistress? I can take care of this if you want to.’ Scorpius walks up to James, softly kicking against his leg. ‘It’s not like he can do anything. Look at him. It's pathetic to think he's a Potter.’

James tries to sit up, tries to scramble to his hands and knees, but it’s a lost cause. His body is shaking, sweat has formed on his forehead and he’s freezing. He feels like he’s about to lose his consciousness any second if he tries to move. 

‘I’m-’ he wants to speak, but Scorpius flicks his wand, mumbling a word and James is being swept up. His arms and legs are bound together as he hangs in the air, looking down at Scorpius who has his wand drawn at him. 

‘If you say one more thing,’ he hisses at the older Potter brother and a shiver goes down the James' spine at hearing Scorpius sound exactly like his father. ‘Be quiet.' He turns back to Headmistress Umbridge. ‘People at the Blood Ball were talking about Harry _Potter_ ,’ he spits out the last name just like she had done a few minutes ago. ‘The teachers asked me to come find you so you could take care of them or tell them what they should do with the student. I got this one. You can trust me.’

For a moment there's a silence hanging between the two of them as Headmistress Umbridge takes in Scorpius. Almost as if to figure out if he really is to be trusted like he says he is.

‘Very well,’ Headmistress Umbridge claps her hands and the Dementors float up into the air, away from the company. ‘I trust you Scorpius and I trust that you will give me some valuable information by tomorrow afternoon. I’m sure you have no problems with using whatever necessary to get that information out of this boy.’

‘You can count on me, Headmistress.’

She turns around and walks away. It isn’t until she has disappeared completely out of sight that Scorpius turns back around to James. He flicks his wand again and tries to catch James as he falls to the ground.

‘I’m sorry,’ Scorpius whispers as he helps James sit up. ‘I’m so sorry. I heard you screaming in agony, the most horrible thing I’ve ever heard and I just couldn’t stay there under the cloak. I knew I had to come and help you and I truly have no idea how I pulled that off.’

‘You get really scary when you get like that, you know that?’ James croaks as he looks up at Scorpius. ‘For a moment I was afraid that you really were playing a game with me after all. That you were the Scorpion King.’

Scorpius face scrunches up in disgust. ‘Absolutely not, James. I’m so sorry I didn’t come sooner.’

‘You did well, I told you to hide and you did that.’

‘Let’s get you back to the castle,’ Scorpius puts James’ arm around his shoulder. ‘Do you think you can stand up?’

James nods faintly as Scorpius helps him up. He can feel his knees buckle as soon as he tries to stand on his feet and Scorpius sways under the full weight of James. His teeth had started chattering and he’s cold, _so cold_.

‘I’m not sure if-’ he coughs. ‘I’m not sure if I can do it.’

‘We can do this, James. If there is one thing that you have taught me in the past few days is that I can do more than I think I can. I’m capable of much more bravery than I think I am. So are you. We’re going to take it easy and very slowly, but we can do this. You and me. Come on, one step at a time.’

It seems like an eternity before Scorpius and James are back in the common room. It’s quiet as the Blood Ball is still happening. Scorpius helps James up the spiral staircase toward his dorm. He gently puts him down onto his bed.

‘I’m going to get some help,’ Scorpius’ voice is soft and gentle again. ‘I’m going to get Albus, okay? I will be back as soon as possible.’

Scorpius runs back downstairs, frantically looking around, looking for the boy with the raven black hair. It’s not until he runs inside of the Great Hall that he sees him near the table filled with snacks. He’s talking to Karl, laughing about something that he has said. Scorpius moves through the crowd, pushing through it, trying to get to the younger Potter brother as quickly as possible. He’s breathing heavily when he comes to a halt in front of him.

‘Albus,’ he pants. ‘You need to come with me.’

Albus looks at him with raised eyebrows. ‘What have you been drinking? Your eyes are crazy wild.’

‘Nothing,’ he tries to catch his breath again before continuing. ‘I need you to-’

‘Listen, Scorpion King,’ Karl pushes him away from Albus. ‘I don’t know what you’re trying to do here but I need you to back off-’

‘Shut up, Karl.’ Scorpius grunts as he pushes the boy out of the way. ‘Albus, it’s James. He needs you. So will you just please come with me? I’m begging you.’

Albus looks at Karl for a brief moment before sighing and nodding at Scorpius. He whispers something in Karl’s ear and presses a soft kiss to his lips before following Scorpius down to the common room.

It’s not until they have entered the common room and are walking up the spiral staircase that Albus speaks. 

‘Listen if this is about our conversation-’

Scorpius cuts him off as he pushes open the door to James’ dorm. 'This isn't about you, Albus. I only came to you for your help because James got hurt,' Scorpius glances back at him before kneeling beside James.

Albus looks at James. 'Did you get into another fight?'

'He didn't,' Scorpius says. 'Professor Umbridge and her pet Dementors did this.'

Scorpius can see the color and the smirk disappear from Albus' face when he hears that. 'What did she do?'

'Nothing,' James mumbles, trying to sit up straight. His hands are shaking uncontrollably and his breathing is shallow. 'I'm fine.'

'No, James. You are not fine,' Scorpius cuts him off and stands back up. 'Maybe Albus here will realize just how bad this whole situation - this whole world - is when he hears it. See when James was trying to help me fix this world, which you completely refused to help us with, he got caught. He got caught by Dementors and I think we all know what Dementors do, so I'm sure I don't have to explain that to you. Then headmistress Umbridge showed up and she demanded to know what James was up to. But your brother, he's strong. He's determined and he doesn't give up.' Unlike you, he swallows those words before saying them out loud.

'Scorpius, please-' James grabs Scorpius' arm but he shakes him off.

'Because James didn't want to tell her what he was doing or what he was planning and who was involved. She tortured him. She TORTURED HIM!' Scorpius finds himself screaming those last words. Screaming them at Albus as if maybe then he'd hear him. Maybe then he'd realize just how bad everything is and how bad everything is going to get from here on out. 'Maybe if you would stop and look at everything that's going on - at what James has done for you.. Maybe if you would stop being so incredibly stubborn you would understand that we need to fix this. That we need to change this. This world is messed up, it's dark and it's murky. There's another world out there where Voldemort is defeated. A world where your parents are still alive. Where we are best friends-' Scorpius voice breaks. 'And yes people don't bully me here. People don't give me dirty looks or walk the other way when they see me coming. They don't push me or call me names. So maybe I am better off in this world, but this world isn't better.'

As soon as he stops talking, he feels bad. He feels bad for yelling at the boy in front of him, who is now looking at him with wide eyes and a pale face. Part of him knows it's his own frustration and fear that are making him lash out like this. Maybe he shouldn’t have yelled. It isn’t Albus’ fault that he doesn’t trust Scorpius, definitely not after what the Scorpion King has done to him. He doesn’t think he’d be able to look at Albus if the roles had been reversed. So he couldn’t blame him for keeping his distance from the boy with the blonde hair and the face of the person that betrayed him. 

‘I’m sorry, Albus. I shouldn’t have yelled at you like that,’ Scorpius whispers. ‘But we really need your help. We need _all_ the help we can get, including you.’

Albus looks at him, face blank and hands balled up in fists at his sides. No doubt he’s digging his fingernails in the palms of his hands to keep himself from losing control of his emotions. Without saying a word to Scorpius, he walks past him - kneeling down next to his brother. 

‘Are you okay?’ he asks James, his face full of worry as he examines his brother’s face. 

‘I’m just really- just really cold,’ his voice is soft and faint. His lips are blue and his teeth are chattering from the cold.

Albus stands up, turning towards Scorpius. ‘I do know what Dementors do and I need you to go get chocolate. There’s some in my trunk in the dorm.’ 

He turns back to his brother when Scorpius leaves James’ dorm room. 

‘I’m so sorry, Albus. I’m so sorry,’ James whispers, shaking his head repeatedly. 

Albus looks down on his brother, squeezing his shoulder gently. ‘Don’t do this, James.’

A strangled sob escapes his body as he wraps his arms around Albus’ waist. He pulls his little brother close to him. His glasses falling to the ground as he hides his face into Albus’ shirt, but none of them pay attention to it. His mother’s screams and his little brother’s cries echo through his mind. The guilt upon his shoulders weighing heavy. He can't escape the thought that he should have done something to help or save his parents. Instead he just sat there, on the stairs, as he watched the death eaters enter the house and kill his parents. Dooming himself and his little brother into a life full of darkness. His little brother that deserves better, his little brother that he should have been protecting. He _thought_ he was protecting him but now he knows, he was mostly protecting himself. Talking about what had happened that night had been something he had never done, everyone told him to stay quiet about it. Saying he's a liar, that it was the Dark Lord that killed his parents. No one listened to him so he stopped talking. Knowing he'd have to tell Albus at one point had weighed heavy on his heart for years and he was scared. Scared of being called a liar again, scared of Albus' reaction, scared of what it would do to his own heart.

‘I should have told you earlier. I should have told you everything a long while ago. You deserved the truth and I never should have kept it from you. I thought I was protecting you. But I was just protecting myself from having to- I should have protected you, instead I just hurt you.’ His voice is muffled as he cries into Albus’ sweater. 

‘It’s okay,’ Albus whispers as he gently strokes James’ hair. ‘It’s okay. I’m right here and it’s okay. I’m okay- We’re going to be okay, James.’

Scorpius returns with a huge chocolate bar and Albus takes it from him, without uttering a word. He opens it and gives a big chunk to James. Wrapping a blanket around his shoulders.

'Eat this, you will feel better when you do.'

James takes the big piece of chocolate and for a moment Albus just looks in silence as his brother munches away on the chunk. His lips slowly returning to its natural color and the shivers dying down.

'I'll be right back, okay?' Albus squeezes James' shoulder again.

James is reluctant but he nods, his eyes following Albus’ every move. Almost begging him not to leave. Albus looks at Scorpius and he nods toward the door. James continues to eat the chocolate with a blanket around his shoulder.

‘I will help you,’ Albus says as he closes the door behind him. ‘But just because James believes in this other world and he deserves a better life than he has now. He and I have had our issues but he’s my brother and he’s all that I have left in this world. He has gone through hell and back for me, so I owe him that much.’

‘Thank you,’ Scorpius gives him a small smile.

Albus sighs as he rubs his face with his hand. ‘Listen, I know you’re not Scorpius- I mean you _are_ Scorpius, but not my Scorpius. I mean, not _my_ Scorpius, just Scorpius. I didn’t mean-’

‘It’s okay, I understand what you mean.' 

Albus nods. ‘But the only thing I see when I look at you is the person that- the person-’

‘The person that hurt you,’ Scorpius finishes his sentence, getting another nod from Albus. ‘I understand that, Albus. Though I wish it could be different, I understand it. He has hurt you - he has hurt you badly and that’s unforgivable. And I know my word might not mean a lot, but know that I won’t. I would never hurt you, I’d rather face a dragon or a hundred Dementors than hurt you. In this other world we’re best friends and I honestly can’t imagine a better friend than you.’

A small smile appears on Albus’ face. Scorpius reaches out for him and for the first time Albus doesn’t step back. He squeezes his upper arm gently. 

‘I’m going back inside to see if James needs anything. I will see you tomorrow morning,’ he turns around before he changes his mind, turning back to Scorpius. ‘Thank you. Thank you for saving and helping my brother.’

‘It’s no problem. He has helped me a great deal. That was the least that I could do for everything he has done for me.’

Albus gives him a last nod before going back inside of James’ dorm. James has changed into his pajamas and is sitting on his bed, as if he was waiting for Albus to return. Albus gestures towards the bed, pulling back the blanket so James can lay down. He’s still shivering and he looks incredibly vulnerable, something Albus has never seen and it hurts. It breaks his heart that his brother is suffering. Probably has been suffering all this time and he hasn’t been there for him because he was too caught up in his own thoughts and his own suffering. His brother needs him and he needs his brother and it’s only now that he realizes just how badly they need each other. 

‘I’m sorry, James. I’m sorry that I haven’t been here for you. I’m sorry that I have been so incredibly caught up into my own misery that I shut you out. I’m sorry for being such a horrible brother,’ Albus says in one breath, trying his best to keep his tears back. I’m sorry that I wasn’t here for you.’

James gives him an encouraging smile. ‘It’s not your fault, Albus. We’re all learning how to cope in this world and we all deal with our past differently. It’s been a rough few years and I don’t blame you for wanting your distance. I don’t blame you for anything, just know that okay? You’re my brother and I love you. I will always love you and I will always be here for you, no matter what happens.’

A lonely tear escapes the corner of Albus’ eye and he quickly wipes it away with his sleeve. 

‘I love you too, James. We’re brothers and you’re all I have left in this world. I believe you when you say there’s a world out there that is better. A world in which our lives are better. So I will help you and Scorpius the best I can.’

‘Will you stay with me now?’ James whispers, his eyes pleading as he looks at Albus. 

‘Of course I will.’

He changes into one of his brother's pajamas before he pushes back the blanket. He crawls into bed next to his brother, tucking them both in as he wraps his arm around James, pulling himself close. Burying his face into James’ chest, who rests his chin on his head. As they lay there it’s just like all those nights in the home that they used to live in. Just the two of them. Knowing that the cold and empty feeling inside of their heart will always remain but they will never stop trying to keep each other warm. Just for a moment they feel safe. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I truly hope you enjoyed the fourth of six chapter of this new Dark AU fic.  
> I'd love to hear your thoughts on it so feel free to leave a comment, no matter how small. Thank you so much for reading!
> 
> The next update will be this Wednesday!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before reading this please do know this story is set in the Dark AU from Cursed Child. Which means there's mention of death and trauma, there's violence and there will be scenes in which characters will use the Cruciatus Curse.

'Hey,' Scorpius walks into the former Gryffindor common room.

James jumps at the sound of Scorpius' voice, knocking his chair over in the process. He gives him a small, apologetic smile as he quickly goes to pick up the chair. He sits down. Scorpius notices his head hanging low and his slumped shoulders, almost as if he's trying to make himself smaller than he is. It's different from the way he has seen James over the past few days. Normally he makes himself as tall as possible, his shoulders broad, his chin up and his chest out. He doesn't look like James, it's almost as if something inside of him broke when headmistress Umbridge tortured him.

'Are you okay?' Scorpius asks softly as he takes place oppose the older Potter brother.

James sighs as he looks up, meeting Scorpius' eyes as he forces a smile on his face. 'I'm fine, thank you. How are you doing, Scorpius? You look like you haven't slept all night.'

'It's because I haven't,' Scorpius mumbles as he leans back against the back rest of the chair. 'I can't help but wonder- I mean, the Scorpion King- He-' He takes in a deep, shaky breath as he averts his eyes. 'I have heard terrible stories about the Scorpion King. About the things he has done to those innocent people, what he has done to- What he has done to Albus. It's all very disturbing, very dark.' He pauses as he wraps his arms around his chest, almost as if he's trying to keep himself together. 'That darkness, that's inside of the Scorpion King. What if that's inside of me as well?'

'What do you mean?'

'I have always felt like there's this darker side of me, this darkness inside of me. I mean everyone always looks at me like I'm some kind of ticking time bomb. Like they're waiting for me to explode, to turn into that horrible, evil person that they expect me to be. That they think I am. That darkness-' There's a silence as Scorpius sighs. 'I feel like that darkness is watching me, creeping up on me. Like it's just below the surface, waiting for me to make a mistake.'

Both boys jump in their chairs as Albus walks in, a plate of sandwiches in his hands and a sheepish smile on his face. 'I'm really sorry, I couldn't help but overhear what you guys were talking about.'

He puts down the plate on the table that the two boys are sat at. He crosses his arms in front of his chest as he looks from James to Scorpius.

'I don't think you're anything like the Scorpion King,' he eventually says, his eyes roaming the Gryffindor common room. 'I think you're the furthest from him- From what he has become.'

Their eyes meet and the urge to jump up and hug Albus is almost too much for Scorpius. The need for the comfort of his embrace, the warmth he always radiates that manages to calm all his nerves and anxious feelings. It's everything he needs right now, but he can't have that. So Scorpius sits on his hands, looking up at the boy with the messy black hair as he continues talking.

'You remind me of the Scorpius that I used to know. That I used to be friends with. He was just like you. Curious, wide-eyed, looking at the world as if it's the most beautiful thing he has seen. He could see the light in a world full of darkness. He was one of the kindest and most caring people I knew. But when your mother- His mother died everything changed. It wasn't until then that he started to close off, especially from me and it changed him. The grief consumed him and turned him into the person he is now.

You lost your mother as well, but in that difficult time you didn't turn away from your best friend, you didn't close yourself off. You didn't let yourself be consumed by the grief of losing your mother. It seems you found strength in your friendship. I don't know you, at all, but you don't seem like a bad person.' Albus flashes him a small smile before continuing. 'You still have that spark inside of your eyes, whenever you talk about this other world or about _your_ Albus. You have hope, you have the knowledge that there's a better world out there. We all have darkness inside of us, but it's our choice if we give into it or not. You haven't and that makes you different from the Scorpion King. You decide which path you will take and no one else. Don't let this fear control you. Control your fear and you will find that it has no power over you.'

A silence falls between the two of them as Scorpius and Albus look at each other and for the first time Scorpius feels like he's really looking at him - at _him_ , the other Scorpius. Instead of looking at him and seeing the memory of the Scorpion King, the one that hurt him badly. Scorpius lets out a whiney sound as he looks down at his hands, trying his best to keep the tears in.

'Thank you. That's nice,' Scorpius whispers before looking back up at Albus. 'That's a nice thing to say.'

Albus smiles at him again and Scorpius can't help but smile back at him. Even in this world he can't help but always smile back at Albus.

'James, are you okay?' Albus sits down and looks at his brother's hands, which are trembling.

James pulls his hands back, hiding them in his lap. 'I'm fine,' he mumbles as he looks at the full plate of sandwiches in front of him.

'You haven't eaten anything,' Albus remarks as he pushes the plate toward him. 'You have to eat something.'

'I'm not hungry, Albus.'

He pushes the plate of sandwiches away again and Albus catches his hand. 'James, your hands are shaking and you're freezing. Are you sure you don't need me to come with you to the Hospital Wing?'

'It's an aftereffect of the Cruciatus Curse,' Scorpius says. 'I read about it once and-'

'Can we maybe not talk about this right now? We have more important matters to discuss. We need to find a way to get to the Whomping willow,’ James whispers, even though they’re up in the Gryffindor tower and no one ever comes there. Purely because they’re appalled by the idea of being surrounded by stuff that once belonged to the house of Godric Gryffindor. 

‘Why do we need to go _there_?’ Albus mumbles as he watches his brother from behind his sandwich. 

‘We need help. There’s two people out there that I only just recently met, apparently they have been watching us for a while now. Trying to figure out if we were to be trusted and then they reached out to me. I need you both to meet them. Scorpius and I were on our way to do so when we got caught. So we will have to find a way to get there without anyone seeing it.’

‘I say we go there by daylight,’ Albus says, giving a simple shrug with his shoulders as both boys look at him with their eyebrows raised. ‘The Dementors are on high alert as soon as it gets dark. Who would even expect us to be up to mischief when it’s daylight? What kind of idiots would try and break the rules during the day?’ Scorpius and James look at each other before looking at Albus again. He points at the three of them before taking another bite of his sandwich. ‘Exactly, these three idiots.’

‘I thought I had taught you not to talk with a full mouth,’ James playfully shoves Albus, who rolls his eyes. ‘I think you’re right. That might be the best we can do right now.’

‘But what do we do if we get caught?’ Scorpius asks, nervously wringing his hands. ‘If we get caught again we’re in much more trouble. I got us out of it last time but I’m not sure if I can do that again.’

‘Oh come on, Scorpius. Turns out you _are_ a pretty good liar,’ Albus’ voice is sing songy when he says that. ‘I’m sure you-’ Scorpius gives him a horrified look. ‘-we will come up with something if that happens. We’ll be fine.’

Albus stuffs the last of his sandwich in his mouth and he stands up. ‘Ready?’

James sighs and shakes his head. ‘This boy has no manners, Scorpius. Please tell me he has better manners in your world?’

Scorpius shakes his head at James and smiles innocently when he sees Albus looking at him with raised eyebrows. 

‘I think it’s best to get going instead of sitting here discussing my manners. So get off your arses and let’s get going,’ Albus grumbles as he walks out of the room followed by the other two boys. 

* * *

'Albus!'

Albus freezes at the sound of his name and when Karl walks up to him he gestures for James and Scorpius to wait for him further down the hallway.

'I was just coming to find you. Where are you going?' Karl asks, reaching out for Albus' hand, holding it to his chest.

'There's something I need to do,' Albus answers vaguely, avoiding eye contact with Karl as he focuses on their hands.

'With your brother and Scorpius?' Karl glances over his shoulder at Scorpius and James, waiting at the end of the hallway. 'Albus, are you okay? Is something wrong?'

'No,' Albus is startled by the force behind his voice and continues in a softer voice as he looks back up into his boyfriend's eyes. 'There's nothing wrong, babe. Everything's fine. You don't have to worry about me.' He presses a soft kiss to Karl's lips. 'Why were you coming to look for me?'

'I was going to ask you to come and go on a walk with me. There's something I need to talk to you about,' Karl explains, his voice urgent and his eyes pleading with Albus.

'I would love to go on a walk with you, but I really can't right now.'

Karl looks away from Albus, his eyes sad. Albus reaches out, running his finger over Karl's lips, stopping him from biting his lower lip. 'Please tell me what's on your mind.'

Their eyes lock onto each other again and for a moment there's a silence between them before Karl speaks again.

'We should run away from here.'

Albus' breath catches in his throat, his eyes growing wide as he takes in what Karl has said.

'What?' Albus' voice is barely a whisper as he steps closer towards his boyfriend. He recalls Karl telling him that he doesn't feel comfortable anymore at the school. That he doesn't like who he has become ever since he started his first year at Hogwarts. He told Albus how grateful he is to have him by his side that Albus had helped him see how messed up his mind was. How far he had strayed from the person he had wanted to be when he was younger. But he had never mentioned wanting to run away from Hogwarts. 'Where did that come from?'

Karl opens his mouth and closes it again, his eyes wandering through the hallways almost as if trying to make sure there was no one else around that could hear them. His and Albus' hand still pressed against his chest, almost as if he's afraid his boyfriend will disappear when he lets go. His eyes find Albus' again and he reaches his free hand up to Albus' face, cupping his cheek.

'The torture, the pain, everything here. It's not worth it. I want you to run away with me, Albus.'

Albus tries to swallow the lump forming in his throat as a thought pops up into his mind. _Karl_. If they succeed in changing the world back to what it was before, he will lose the boy standing in front of him. The boy that waved at him on their first day, before boarding the train. The boy that volunteered to partner up with him when he lost his only friend. The boy that goes to lengths to make him smile whenever he is feeling down. The boy that changed his entire life, that brought a little bit of light back into it.

'Karl,' Albus sighs as he touches his forehead to Karl's. 'There's nothing I'd rather do than run away with you from all the darkness surrounding this place - surrounding us. But I need to do this and I need you to trust me.'

'Why do I feel like you're saying goodbye?' There's a panicked look in Karl's eyes as he takes in Albus' face, looking for an answer. 'Albus, where are you going? What are you going to do?'

'I can't tell you-'

'I'll come with you,' Karl whispers, pleading for Albus to listen to him. 'I'll come with you and we can do this together.'

'It's dangerous and I need you to be safe. I need to know that you're going to be in a safe place and that no harm will overcome you. Babe, please promise me you won't follow me. I'm begging you, Karl.'

'Fine. But I need you to come looking for me straight after you're finished with whatever it is you're doing,' he whispers, cupping Albus' face gently. He kisses him softly before touching their noses together. 'Something is going to happen and it's not going to be pretty, Albus. I need you to come back to me. Be safe, okay?'

'Always,' Albus' voice is barely a whisper, his hands lost in Karl's robes, holding on tight to them - never wanting to let him go - as he presses another quick kiss to his lips. 'I love you.'

Karl's breath catches in his throat as he stares at Albus, both realizing what Albus had said a few seconds ago. Both caught off guard by it.

'I'm sorry. Is it-' Albus is cut off by Karl's lips on his. A fierce kiss, one that makes his heart skip a beat, that takes all of his breath away. A kiss he wishes would never stop, that he will never get enough from.

'I love you too,' Karl whispers against Albus' lips. 'Please come back to me.'

Albus forces a smile on his face, but it doesn't reach his eyes and Karl must have noticed that. He kisses the tip of Albus' nose before they finally let go of each other. Albus walks back toward James and Scorpius, Karl's eyes following his every move as he watches his boyfriend walk away from him.

'Are you okay?' James asks Albus, worry lining his face.

'I'm fine,' Albus mumbles and gestures for the two boys to start walking.

He looks around one last time before rounding the corner. Karl gives him a small wave, just like he had done that first day on Platform 9¾. Albus smiles back at him before tearing his eyes away from him, following after Scorpius and James.

* * *

Albus walks into the tiny room, looking a bit grumpy as he tries to get the dust off his black coat. When he looks up, at the company they're in, a gasp sounds.

'He looks just like Harry,' the woman to the right whispers as she looks at Albus, her hand grabbing onto the man's arm.

'Eh-' Albus looks a bit uneasy when he looks from the two grownups to his brother. 'James, who are these people exactly?'

'This is Ron, he's mum's brother and that's Hermione. They are- were dad's best friends throughout all the years he spend at Hogwarts and after that. They're going to help us.'

Albus nods at Ron and Hermione as a way of greeting before grabbing James by the arm, dragging him away from the duo. 'Why didn't you tell me about this? We have an _uncle_ that is alive?'

'I only recently discovered it as well. They have been keeping an eye on us because-'

'Because we promised that to your parents. We swore that if anything would happen to them we'd look out for you two,' says Ron, cutting James off.

'But we failed,' Hermione continues. 'We were being hunted, every single death eater was searching for us and we had no way of getting to the two of you without putting you in terrible danger. We had to go into hiding and there was no way we could reach you. We're very sorry that we haven't been there for you all those years. We've been watching you, trying to figure out if you were to be trusted.'

'Which you are, we figured that much as soon as we met James for the first time. Your parents-'

'-are dead,' Albus deadpanned as he looked at the two of them. 'They're dead and we have been living at that horrifying home for all of our childhood surrounded by strangers and death eaters. I don't want to hear how proud our parents would have been of us or how much they meant to you. We just need your help to fix all of this.' He points at the Time-Turner in Scorpius' hand.

Ron and Hermione stay silent as they take in Albus' face, scrunched up in anger as he looks back at them. The same anger they had seen on Harry's face a lot of times. Anger that comes from hurt, betrayal, loneliness. They know their best friend had been feeling lonely for all of his childhood years that he had to spend at the Dursley's, with people that didn't accept him for who he was or gave him the love that he deserved - that he needed. And now they see that hurt in Albus' face. Just like Harry he hadn't known his parents and ended up in an environment where he had felt unloved and alone.

'Albus, can you please calm down?' James whispers as he puts his hand on his brother's shoulder. 'What happened with our parents isn't their fault.'

'I don't have any parents, James. Maybe I did when I was a baby, but I've never known them. I don't know what their voices sound like. I don't know what kind of people they were. I don't know what kind of songs mum would sing when I was upset. I don't know what dad would do to make me smile. I don't-' Albus' voice breaks as he turns his back towards the others in the room. He rubs his face with his hand and takes in a shaky breath. 'I just- Can we just get to this whole time turning business?'

'Your parents loved you very much,' Hermione's voice is soft and gentle as she takes a small step towards Albus. His eyes meet hers, holding her gaze. 'They are two of the bravest people I have ever known. They always fought for what they thought was right and they didn't give up. Their hearts were king and they were true. They fought with everything they had until the very last moments. And they loved you dearly.'

Scorpius watches Albus closely as he listens to what Hermione is telling him about his parents and he can see him slowly crumbling down. As if the walls he had so desperately build up around him and his feelings, is now slowly breaking down - falling apart. Just like Albus himself. His shoulders slump and he can see his bottom lip starting to quiver. For a moment he sees the Albus from his world, hurt and vulnerable and it breaks Scorpius' heart.

'I can't do this,' Albus' voice is barely a whisper as he turns around and storms out of the room.

James gestures for the rest to stay. 'Scorpius will explain everything. I'll go talk to him.' He quickly runs after his little brother, calling his name, but Albus keeps walking with his head down - pretending he doesn't hear his brother.

'Albus, slow down!' James gently grabs Albus' arm to stop him. 'Albus, please listen to me.'

'I don't- I just want to go. I changed my mind. I don't want to do this anymore.'

'Albus, I know you have been trying to stay strong for all these years. I know you don't like to talk about mum and dad and about everything that has happened in the past. I get it, I get that it's hard and it hurts. Because it hurts me too. You're not alone, you do know that right? I know that you feel like you are, but I'm right here, Albus. I'm right here.'

For a minute Albus just looks at his brother, a silence hanging between them with Scorpius talking to Hermione and Ron in the background. They just stand there and for a moment James thinks Albus is going to put up his walls again, like he usually does when it gets too much for him or when James wants to talk about their parents or feelings. But something shifts in Albus. He bites down on his bottom lip to keep it from quivering but it's no use. He balls his hands into fists to keep them from shaking, but it's not working.

Then the tears start to fall and his body slumps as his knees give out from under him. James jumps at him, catching him from falling to the ground. He puts his arms around his little brother and pulls him close to his chest as heavy sobs overcome him. Albus cries, for the very first time in a long time and for a moment they're back to being those two small boys in a home. Two small boys that had just lost their parents, scared for what was coming next. Scared for the world around them.

'Mum and dad really would have been proud of you, Albus. And I need you to know that I am proud of you,' James whispers as he presses a kiss to the crown of Albus' head. 'We need to do this and we need to do this together, as brothers.'

'I know,' Albus whispers as he takes in a deep breath. 'I know.'

James pulls back, looking at his brothers face. He wipes his tears away with his thumbs and for a moment they just sit there looking at each other and James feels an overwhelming love for his little brother. All these years they have been living apart from each other, not really talking or doing anything together, and he regrets every little bit about that. He loves his brother, he loves his brother more than anything or anyone in this world. 

James stands up, reaching out his hand to Albus. His brother takes his hand and he pulls him up into another hug, just basking in the warmth and comfort of his little brothers arm and he has to do his best to hold back the tears forming in his eyes.

'We can do this,' he whispers before pulling back again.

His arm still around his brother's shoulder when they walk back into the room where Scorpius and Hermione are admiring the Time-Turner. Talking to each other with the same kind of fascination in their faces. They all look up when the two Potter brothers enter the room again.

'I'm very sorry for going off like that,' Albus says as he looks at Ron and Hermione. 'It was unfair and I shouldn't have done that. I'm sorry.'

'That's okay,' Ron walks up to Albus and hesitates for a moment before he puts his arm around his shoulders as well, holding him closer.

Albus feels uneasy at first, giving James a look before easing into Ron's touch. His uncle's touch. Before Albus realizes what he's doing, he has thrown both his arms around Ron and he is hugging him. James walks up to Scorpius and Hermione and nods at the Time-Turner.

'Do we have any idea on how to fix this?'

'What spells did you use?' Hermione asks as she gives the Time-Turner back to Scorpius.

He puts them back in the little bag hanging from his shoulder. 'Expelliarmus in the first task and Engorgio in the second.'

Ron and Albus join the others as well. 'And then you left?' he asks.

'The Time-Turner took us back, yes. That's the thing, this Time-Turner only gives you five minutes in the past,' Scorpius explains.

Hermione frowns, putting a finger to her chin as she's thinking. 'And can you still only move in time not space?'

'Yes. Yes, it's uh-' Scorpius plays with his sleeves as he thinks of how to explain how the Time-Turner works. 'When using the Time-Turner, you travel back in the same spot you stand in.'

'Interesting,' Hermione looks at Ron and for a moment there's a silence between them. A silence James picks up on.

'Then it's just Scorpius, Albus and me,' James says as he looks at Hermione, cutting her off when she wants to speak. 'You and uncle Ron are the most wanted people in the Wizarding World. Doing this will require for you both to go outside. There's dozens of Dementors out there, as soon as you set foot outside, it's over-' James' voice dies as he thinks about what will happen.

'If you are found outside the Dementors will kiss you. They will suck out your soul,' Albus continues. 'I have read books on them and they're the worst. Just walking around the school grounds makes you feel cold and sad. If they get to you, they will not stop until they have what they want.'

'This is our chance to reset the world,' Hermione says, her voice soft but fierce. 'The first task is at the edge of the Forbidden Forest. We need to get there as quick as possible, we turn the time there, block the spell and return safely. Then we'll have to turn time again when at the lake, to make sure we can reverse the second task and-'

'You will be risking everything!' James bursts out.

'If we get this right. Harry- Your father and mother will be alive. Voldemort's dead and the Augurey is gone,' Hermione walks over to the two Potter brothers. She smiles at them, a sad but hopeful smile. 'You boys will have a better life, one that you deserve. No risk is too great for that, not to me.'

'Sometimes costs are meant to be made,' Ron says as he puts a hand on Scorpius' shoulder, squeezing it encouragingly.

'We need to make sure we make it to the edge of the Forbidden Forest now. We'll have to be fast and quiet. James, do you still have the invisibility cloak?'

James nods and holds up the cloak that's in his hands.

'I need you three to hide underneath the cloak. When we tell you to run, I need you boys to run and not look back. If anything happens, the three of you will have to make sure you get this right,' Hermione explains and he smiles at the three boys in front of her. 'Come here.'

James wraps his arms around her shoulders, pulling her close as he tries to keep his tears from falling. He takes in a deep, shaky breath before he whispers a thank you to her. Saying he will see her in this other world before she gives Scorpius and Albus a hug.

'I believe in the three of you. You're smart boys and you are as brave as your parents have been throughout all these years,' she cups Scorpius' face with her hands. 'All of your parents.'

He smiles at her, grateful for her words before he takes place behind James, next to Albus. He throws the invisibility cloak over the three of them and Ron checks if they're completely hidden before they follow the two grownups out of the shrieking shack.

* * *

The familiar cold of the Hogwarts Grounds greets them when they emerge from the Shrieking Shack. Albus reaches out for James' arm, holding onto him tight to make sure he stays close to his brother. But also because he's scared, scared for what's to come and what will be awaiting them when they go back in time to try and fix everything. Scared of what will happen when he gets erased from time so this other Albus, Scorpius' Albus, can live. Just like Karl, _his_ Karl.

'Are you okay?' Scorpius asks him in a soft voice, glancing sideways to Albus, who's knuckles have turned white from holding onto James' coat. But all he can do is nod.

James stops walking, holding out both arms so Scorpius and Albus can't pass him. They hold their breath as they follow James' gaze up the sky. Dementors float through the air and they stand as still as possible.

'You know standing still isn't going to make them not notice us right?' Albus whispers to James. 'They sense us. They will know we're here anyway so we might as well keep walking and get to the edge of the Forbidden For-' he's interrupted when a Dementor starts descending, floating their way.

James pushes them back, placing himself in front of the two boys as a shield. He can feel the cold coursing through his body as if his blood has turned into ice, the distant cry for help from his mother in the back of his mind.

'James!' Albus calls out to him as he grabs his brothers arm, but it's like he's nailed to the ground.

Someone jumps in front of the boys and their uncle lifts his wand, pointing it toward the Dementor. 'Go! Run to the lake. Turn time and fix this.'

James shakes his head, returning to reality as he throws the cloak off the three of them. It falls to the ground as he grabs the arms of the other two boys, pulling them along. Hermione waves them over and the four of them don't stop running until they're in the exact spot they're supposed to be in. But the overwhelming cold makes them shiver, starts fogging up their mind making it hard to concentrate at the task at hand.

'Expecto Patronum!' Hermione calls out. A silver otter floats through the air toward the Dementors that have made their way to surround her and the three boys. 'I need you guys to go on without us. Remember what I told you. You boys can do this. I will see you in this other world.'

'No, we can't leave-' Albus reaches out for Hermione's arm but James stops him.

'Albus, we have to go on. We have to fix this,' he says to his little brother, starting to pull him along to Scorpius who has started setting the Time-Turner. 'We're not leaving them behind. We're saving them.'

'I set the Time-Turner, come on!' Scorpius calls them over and they all reach their hands out for the Time-Turner. Albus and James lock eyes, taking in a deep breath before they're pulled into it.

Albus, Scorpius and James gasp for air as they look around. The crows is cheering loudly and Scorpius grabs James and Albus by the arm, pulling them out of sight. 

‘That’s Albus and me,’ Scorpius whispers, pointing at two boys in Durmstrang robes on the sidelines. ‘Al is going to be using Expelliarmus any moment to disarm Cedric. Hermione said to block his spell at the right time.’

‘I’ll do it,’ James mumbles as he gets in front of Albus and Scorpius. ‘You two stay back so they don’t see you. 

‘-and Cedric Diggory has entered the stage. And he seems ready. Scared but ready. He dodges this way. He dodges that way. The girls swoon as he dives for cover. They cry as one: don’t damage our Diggory, Mr. Dragon. And Cedric skirts left and he dives right - and he readies his wand-’

James has his eyes focused on the Albus from the other world waiting for him to get his wand out. 

‘This is taking too long. The Time-Turner is spinning,’ Albus mumbles just as the Scorpius from the other world calls out to Albus. 

‘What has this young, brave, handsome man got up his sleevies now?’

Scorpius is struggling to keep the Time-Turner in control as Albus’ eyes flick between him and his brother. James watches Albus pull out his wand, ready to cast the spell and with a simple flick of his own wand he blocks it. Albus from the other world looks at his wand, confused as to why the spell didn’t work and in the background they hear Ludo Bagman say that Cedric Diggory has turned a stone into a dog. 

‘Guys!’ Scorpius calls out to the Potter siblings. 

They both run back to Scorpius. The Time-Turner spins and they look at it and panic as they’re pulled into it.

An agonizing scream rings through the night and Albus falls to the ground. Scorpius and James are by his side in no time, throwing themselves on the ground on either side of the boy. 

‘What’s wrong?’ James asks Albus, his hands fluttering over Albus’ body, searching for an injury. 

‘My leg,’ Albus hisses through his gritted teeth, trying to take in the intense, burning pain flaring through his leg. 

‘The Time-Turner- It did something to Albus the first time we went back.’

‘What do you mean?’ James asks Scorpius, his facial expression serious as he rips open Albus’ pants to examine the wound. 

‘When you apparate with insufficient determination to reach your goals, it can cause an injury. It’s called splinching. Sometimes it’s body parts that fail to arrive at the destination with the wizard. I think that’s similar to what has happened now with Albus’ leg.’

‘You really are an enormous geek,’ Albus whispers, soft laughter sounds but it turns into a coughing fit. ‘We need to go on. We need to go back to the next task.’

Scorpius looks at the gaping wound in Albus’ leg surrounded with many smaller ones, making him feel sick to his stomach. 

‘Al, I can’t heal this. I’m not experienced enough and you’re hurting-’

‘James, we need to go on. We need to finish this. If we do this right and everything turns back to the way it’s supposed to be, this-’ he gestures to his leg. ‘-will all be better. We _need_ to keep going.’

James and Scorpius look at each other for a brief moment, before James nods. ‘Okay, we need to get to the lake. We’re going to have to watch out for those nasty Dementors and for the teachers. I will be walking ahead, making sure there’s nothing in our way. Scorpius, can you support Albus?’

Scorpius looks at Albus, who gives him a nod - to say that he’s okay with that. ‘I can do that. I’m going to bandage this wound first, hoping you won’t lose too much blood.’

‘Allow me,’ James says as he get his wand out. ‘I learned a new spell, it helps stop the blood flow for now and it might knit some of the smaller cuts.’ He places the tip of his wand over Albus’ leg. ‘ _Vulnera Sanentur._ ’ 

Albus hisses between his teeth as some of the smaller wounds start to heal. James whispers another spell and bandages start to wrap around his leg. 

‘You would make a great healer,’ Albus says as he marvels at his leg. ‘It feels much better already.’ He tries to stand up but starts swaying on his legs as soon as he’s standing on his feet. ‘Though I might feel a bit dizzy.’

‘Take it easy,’ Scorpius says as he puts Albus’ arm around his shoulders, wrapping his own around the boy’s waist. ‘Just tell me when you need a rest, okay?’

James starts walking in front of them, keeping a reasonable distance, just in case someone comes out - so he can stop the other boys from getting caught. They keep walking, the silence sometimes interrupted by Albus taking in a sharp breath when he puts his foot down the wrong way. 

‘How are you holding up?’ Scorpius whispers, as he glances to the side. The moonlight lights up Albus’ face and he looks tired. The dark circles around his eyes clear and his face pale from the blood loss. 

‘I’m doing alright,’ Albus mumbles. His foot catches behind a twig and he feels himself stumble, Scorpius steadies him quickly, wrapping both of his arms around him to pull him back up. ‘I’m sorry.’

‘That’s okay,’ Scorpius says, flashing him a quick smile. ‘I got you.’

‘Thank you, Scorpius. For everything,’ Albus says as he looks up at the other boy.

‘I mean I did kind of cause this, so it’s only fair I try to fix it.’

‘You could have stayed in this world. Like you said, you would be better off in this world. No bullies, people actually look up to you, you’re the poster boy of the school. But instead you decide to leave and go back to the other world. Why?’

Scorpius sighs as they slowly start walking again, afraid to lose James. 

‘Because no one’s better off in this world. Especially not the people that I care for most. Especially not you,’ his voice is barely a whisper when he says those last words. ‘You’re my very best friend, Albus. I don’t want this life for you, neither do I want it for James. I want to fix this. I want my best friend back. I want my dad back. I have to do this.’

‘The Scorpion King is giving up his kingdom for me,’ Albus says jokingly, though the smile on his face shows that he’s genuinely touched. ‘I’m honored.’

James turns around when the lake comes into view. ‘It seems clear to me. Let’s get inside of the water fast and get this over with.’

Scorpius sets Albus down on one of the big rocks. ‘I will see you soon. I’m sorry that I- The Scorpion King has been so incredibly awful to you in this world. You deserve the best.’

Albus manages to pull a smile onto his face, nodding at Scorpius to say thanks. ‘You go on and save the world, Scorpius.’ 

He nods before turning away, walking up to James.

‘I’m not sure if I’m brave enough to actually knock some sense into you when I return to my own world, if everything goes right, but I want to thank you for everything. You’ve been a wonderful friend, I couldn’t have done this without you.’

A smile touches the corners of James’ mouth, lighting up is eyes. He pulls Scorpius in, his arms tightly wrapped around the boys shoulders. ‘I believe in you. You can do this, Scorpius.’

‘Thank you, James.’ He turns around, wanting to say something to Albus, when he freezes in place.

Albus is being held up, the tip of a wand pressed to his temple. His breathing shallow as his eyes look from Scorpius to James, the fear inside them clear as day.

'Yann, I suggest you let go of him right now,' James groans toward the boy but there's no response.

His face is blank, his eyes glassy and his posture is stiff, almost as if it's-

'It's not Yann,' Scorpius whispers. 'I think he's being controlled by someone. Look at his face. There's absolutely no emotion on there. I haven't known Yann for long, but I know that his behavior is completely off.'

'You're right,' James mumbles, his eyes focused on Yann's wand against Albus' temple.

Scorpius wants to reach for his wand, but an agonizing scream from Albus stops him. James swears, as soon as they move Yann reacts. He tries to think of something, something that will help them.

'Scorpius! Go!' Albus screams

'I can't!' Scorpius yells back. 'As soon as I move he'll hurt you.'

'It's okay,' Albus' voice is soft as he nods at Scorpius. 'It's okay. I can take it. You need to do this.'

Scorpius glances sideways to James, his jaw is clenched and he shakes his head. 'No way, Albus.'

'James, he needs-'

A voice cuts through the night air, a shout and a flash of light that blinds Albus. He feels himself fall to the ground, a heavy weight pushing him down on the floor - Yann. He tries to get Yann off of himself, praying that the boy is okay. That he isn't-

'Is he dead?' Albus' voice is panicked as someone helps Yann off of him.

'No, I just knocked him out.'

A familiar voice making Albus look up instantly, his eyes big when he sees Karl crouch down next to him. He jumps at him. Wrapping his arms around his shoulders as he buries his face in his neck before pulling back again and hitting him in the arm.

'I told you to stay in the castle. I told you to be safe!' Albus yells at him. 'You could have gotten yourself hurt!'

'I saved you!' Karl says indignantly, his arms crossed in front of his chest as he pouts at Albus. 'I saw Yann come out of headmistress Umbridge's office and he acted really weird so I followed him. It led me to the lake and when I heard you screaming, I just-' his eyes catch Albus' leg and his torn pants. His offensive exterior dropping as he grabs Albus' hand. 'Thereby you seem like you're the one that has gotten hurt. What happened?'

'It's nothing,' Albus mumbles. 'Just a stupid mistake. It's-'

'As much as I'd love to let you have this nice little chat, we need to get going.' James holds his hand out to Albus, pulling him up with Karl's help. 'Thank you,' he turns to Karl. 'Thank you for helping my brother and with that helping us. I really appreciate it.'

Karl smiles at him, nodding his head. 'It's no problem.'

Albus turns to face Scorpius who's busy working with the Time-Turner.

‘Okay. I just need to set-’

‘Not so fast!’ a high-pitched voice calls out from behind Scorpius and Albus. 

They turn around. Headmistress Umbridge is standing behind them, flanked by two Dementors. The temperature drops immediately, all three boys feeling the cold coming from the creatures. Albus eye catches Karl's immediately. He was just behind him, he only turned for a few seconds, now he's a few feet away. He's whimpering as headmistress Umbridge's wand is pointed at him.

She looks at Yann laying a little further away. 'These children really are no good,' she hisses before looking at the other three again. 'If you make one more move the poor boy is going to be in a lot of pain.'

'Let him go!' Albus shouts at her, pulling out his wand and pointing it at her. He moves, wanting to advance toward her, wanting to free his boyfriend. But an agonizing scream from Karl stops him in his tracks.

He watches him fall to his knees as his own breathing catches in his throat. He wants to scream out his boyfriends name, but he can't - there's no sound coming from his throat. All he sees is his boyfriend on the ground screaming in pain. Like all those innocent people have been doing for all these years. Like his big brother had done, caused by the same wand now pointed at Karl. He tears his eyes away from Karl, his wand still pointed at Umbridge.

'Depulso!' he screams and the spell hits Umbridge in the chest.

James yells for Scorpius to continue his work on the Time-Turner as Albus limps towards Karl, throwing himself on the ground next to him.

'Karl? Karl!' he yells out as he takes his boyfriend's face in his hands. 'I need you to stand up. Come on. You can do it.'

Karl moves to his hands and knees, he's shivering as he stands up. His eyes looking over Albus when he scrambles to his feet, threatening to fall over again when putting weight on his hurt leg. He quickly moves to support Albus again.

'Are you okay?' Karl whispers.

'You're asking _me_ if _I'm_ okay?' Albus can't help but laugh at his boyfriends innocence. He quickly turns to Scorpius. ‘Scorpius, you need to go.' 

‘I can’t leave you alone with her, I-’

‘Yes, you can. You need to go and set this right.’ James grabs Scorpius’ arm, pushing him towards the lake. ‘We’ll keep her busy when she comes back. Now go!’ 

‘Scorpius Malfoy, don’t you dare take another step!’ headmistress Umbridge yells out as she comes closer again. Her wand raised, pointed at the boys.

James raises his wand again. Ready to face whatever it is that’s coming his way - when he feels a hand on his shoulder. Albus is standing next to him, he flashes his big brother a small smile. Karl is still supporting him with his own wand in his hand.

'We need to do this and we need to do this together, as brothers.' Albus repeats what James had said to him earlier.

Scorpius turns back towards James, catching his gaze one last time. ‘Thank you for being my light in the darkness.’

'You're welcome, little Malfoy.'

James gives him a smile before turning back to headmistress Umbridge. They hear a splash, telling them that Scorpius has jumped into the water. James pulls out his wand and both of them face headmistress Umbridge and the two Dementors together, as brothers. All they can do now is hope that Scorpius succeeds and everything will go back to normal. If not, they will lay down their lives for the Greater Good, just like their parents, uncle Ron, Hermione and their grandparents. But at least they will be together. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I truly hope you enjoyed the fifth of six chapter of this new Dark AU fic.  
> I'd love to hear your thoughts on it so feel free to leave a comment, no matter how small. Thank you so much for reading!
> 
> The LAST update will be this Friday!


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The last and final chapter of Uncharted Territory. Enjoy this one!   
> I definitely tried to use lines and moments from the original script - some in a different way - and I hope you notice them and the little connection to the Dark AU.

Scorpius emerges from the water, gasping for air as he looks around. His breathing heavy as he looks for his best friend. But he doesn't see him. He doesn't see Albus anywhere. He can feel his throat tighten and his body turn to ice as he calls out for his best friend. But he's alone. His shoulders slump as he grows still, defeated.

'Albus?' his voice is nothing but a whisper.

Then another person emerges from the water and Scorpius yelps in surprise. Swimming backwards, away from the person that's next to him, gasping for air.

'Albus,' another whisper as Scorpius eyes grow wide.

Albus turns around, facing his best friend and his eyes are wide in surprise and adrenaline.

'Scorpius!' he yells out. 'We got into the lake and I couldn't see you. I know you went in after me but you were gone and all I could see was plants and this huge creature that was coming up to me with the-' he acts out a hissing sound of the creature he supposedly saw coming up to him. 'and then you were gone, did you go back in time? Did you manage to do something?' He brushes the wet hair out of his eyes.

'Is it you?' Scorpius asks as he swims a bit closer toward his best friend, scanning his face, trying to figure out if everything is back to normal. To figure out if it's really Albus, his best friend. The Albus he met on that first day on the Hogwarts Express, who stayed for his sweets.

'Scorpius, did you manage to go back in time? Did you use Engorgio on Cedric as I wasn't there to do it? Did it work?' Albus' voice dies down, worry lining his face when he notices the silence of his best friend compared to the rush of adrenaline coursing through his body. 'Scorpius, what's going on? Are you okay?'

He wants to move forward, toward his friend, but Scorpius moves backward as soon as he does. The last time he ran up to Albus in a different world, he was greeted by cold and distant eyes. A spiteful voice asking him what his problem was, spitting his name out as if it was something dirty and contagious. When he had gently grabbed his arm, he had shoved Scorpius, telling him to stop touching him. Though Albus in that world full of Darkness had warmed up to him, the fear was there. The fear of being rejected again, by his best and _only_ friend. The fear of ending up alone again. The fear of having to see his very best friend walk away from him, despise him and look at him the way the mean children would look at him.

But as he meets Albus' gaze it's different. The brown eyes aren't cold and distant. There's worry, there's fear because Scorpius doesn't talk to him. Because instead of reaching for him, which is almost instinctual for the two of them, he moves away. Something is wrong and Albus can feel it.

'Okay,' Albus' voice is soft and gentle. 'Let's get out of this lake first, okay?'

Scorpius nods quietly, following every move Albus makes, not daring to let his eyes off the boy now swimming in front of him. They both get out of the lake and Albus is wringing his hair out. His Slytherin swimming clothing heavy from the water. He can't explain the relief it brings him to see him in his Slytherin outfit instead of the heavy, black uniform he had worn in the other world.

'Scorpius, what are you wearing?' Albus looks up, taking in the clothing that Scorpius is wearing.

'Albus, is that really you?' Scorpius' voice is barely a whisper, shaking - threatening to break at any point.

'Scorpius,' Albus slowly walks up to him, his hands up in the air to show him that he's not going to do anything. 'Yes, it's me.'

He holds out his hand towards Scorpius. Scorpius looks at the outstretched hand, asking for him to hold it. The hand that had slapped his away when he had reached out for Albus that first time he saw him, the hand that had pushed him away. _No,_ Scorpius reprimands himself in his mind, _That wasn't Albus. That was a different person, another Albus._ He swallows the lump in his throat, takes in a shaky breath before moving his hand towards Albus'. It's shaking uncontrollably and he can't do anything to stop it. He doesn't dare look up at Albus' face, his hand his only focus. His fingertips touch the palm of Albus' hand, his hand is warm despite of just coming out of the cold water. He holds in his breath as he presses his own palm against his before enveloping the hand in his. His touch is warm and when Scorpius look up in Albus warm, brown eyes he knows he's safe. He knows he's home.

'Scor, what-'

Scorpius knees give out from under his body and he falls to the floor. Albus calls his name, lunging at him, trying to catch him and they both crash to the ground. Heavy sobs take over his body as he cries. He cries as Albus wraps his arms around him. He cries as Albus pulls him as close as he possibly can. He cries as Albus tells him that it's going to be okay, that he's here with him and that he isn't going anywhere.

'You have no idea how good it is to see you again,' Scorpius whispers when the heavy sobs have died down a bit, finding his voice again.

He looks up into Albus' eyes. 'You just saw me two minutes ago, when we were in the bathroom, with Moaning- Excuse me, with Myrtle.'

Scorpius lets out a big sigh, his body collapsing into his best friend's again as he wraps his arms around his chest. Basking in the comfort of Albus as he holds him close. 'A lot has happened since then.'

'Now I'm starting to get worried-' but Albus is being cut off by another voice calling out both of their names. But the only thing Albus has attention for is his best friend and the overwhelming feeling of worry about what has happened to him in the time they had spend apart.

Scorpius looks up as their parents walk out of the forest toward the lake, his eyes catching one person in particular. 'It's Harry Potter,' he whispers.

* * *

'Hey,' James' voice is soft when he approaches Scorpius and Albus sitting together in the hallway, outside of professor McGonagall's office. 'I was looking for you.'

'Hey James,' Albus smiles up at his brother.

For a moment the two brothers just look at each other. Scorpius watches James sit down next to Albus. There's a pang in his heart when thinking back of the James Sirius Potter in the other world, the one that had helped him get through his time at that dark place. That had supported him when he felt lonely, listened to him when he went on one of his rambles and had been the reason Scorpius kept hope. The James that was now gone, because they had changed everything back to normal. He barely knew this James at all.

'How did you know that we were gone?' Albus asks.

James shrugs. 'I might have listened in on mom and dad. I was coming to see if you and Scorpius wanted to come have dinner with me that night. You know-' he clears his throat. 'To kind of make things better between us or something. But I heard mom and dad saying that you were gone.'

'I thought _I_ was a bad staircase listener,' Albus says, a grin spreading across his face. 'But here you are.'

James chuckles, before looking from Albus to Scorpius. 'How are you two doing?' he asks. 'There have been rumors that they had found you outside in the lake, but no one really knows what has happened. I mean, of course, there's stories going around about what _could_ have happened. I heard Craig Bowker JR say something about a Time-Turner, but then again Yann says that you were trying to tame the Giant Squib. So I'm not sure I believe any of them.'

Albus and Scorpius look at each other, unsure of what to do. Scorpius nods at Albus, almost like he's giving him permission to tell James.

'How about we get back to the Slytherin dorms? I know we're not supposed to bring anyone from another house up there, but I don't think we can get in any worse trouble than we are in now,' Albus mumbles, tilting his head when looking at James.

James nods and he gets up. He follow Albus and Scorpius down to the Dungeons, closing his ears when the boys give the password to the portrait and follows them up to their empty dorm.

'Is this yours?' James says as he points at Albus' bed.

Albus nods and gets his sweater and pajama bottoms. 'I'm just going to quickly get changed out of these wet clothes. Scor, you should probably get out of them as well, to warm up.'

James crosses his legs as he looks around the dorm, which is completely different to his Gryffindor dorm. The walls around Scorpius and Albus' beds are empty whereas his are full of different posters from Quidditch teams, flags with the colors of red and gold. It feels grim, like the boys have never been able to make it home. But then again he doesn't know if they have ever even seen Hogwarts as a real home, not in the way James did.

Albus enters the dorm again. His face is pale and his cheeks rosy, his raven black hair a mess atop of his head - untamable as always. He looks small in his green sweater and a sudden urge to wrap his arms around his brother's shoulders and hold him tights is overwhelming, but he stays put. They smile at each other and Albus takes place next to James, on the end of his own bed.

Not long after Albus, Scorpius comes back into the dorm. Albus looks pale, but when James looks at Scorpius he's even paler. The dark circles under his eyes showing just how tired he must be, his cheeks hollowed as if he hasn't eaten in days. He looks worn out.

'Are you okay, Scorpius?' he asks in a soft voice as he looks at the boy sitting down on his bed oppose him. 'You look really tired.'

'Is that your way of telling me I look horrible?' Scorpius chuckles as he looks up James.

'No, I- I didn't mean it like that. It's just-'

'Don't worry, I know what you mean. But yes, I am very tired. It's been quite the few days,' he falls silent, thinking of ways to explain to both brothers what had happened in the past few days that he had spend in the other world.

Scorpius didn't really tell them everything that had happened in the other world, not wanting to disturb the two of them. How James had decided to trust Scorpius after a while and how he had helped him through all these days. How Albus had joined them the last two days he had spend there to try and fix everything. He left out the attack from headmistress Umbridge and the Dementors on James and the fights he had with Albus. He did tell Albus and James about their parents and Lily Luna, how they didn't exist in this other world. Resulting in two identically horrified looks on both boys' faces.

'So you're telling me that our parents were killed in this world before Lils was born?' James' voice is soft and the hurt in it is clear to Scorpius. Albus moves the slightest bit toward James, almost as if he's trying to find comfort in the presence of his brother while listening to Scorpius. 

Scorpius nods, a sad look on his face at the memory of it. 'That's right.' He wasn't going to go into details on how they died and how James had to witness it. From the horrified look of his face, he's not sure he'd be able to handle that kind of information. 'You two only had each other. It was just the two of you in this world all those years. You didn't quite get along at first, I mean you both had your own challenges to face, but in the end you worked together to make sure I could turn back time. You two stood together, side by side to keep Umbridge and the Dementors from getting to me, as brothers.'

Scorpius can't help but smile at the image of Albus and James look at each other and it's like they both realize just how far they had grown apart during all these years. Ever since Albus' first year at Hogwarts they had grown further and further apart. Hardly talking to each other, hardly even seeing each other when they were at school.

Before James realizes what he's doing, he pulls Albus close to him. Wrapping his arm around his shoulder, the other on top of his messy hair. Albus wraps his arms around James' waist, breathing in the familiar scent of his big brother that he had almost forgotten - they hadn't hugged in years. Only now did they both realize how much they had missed the safety and comfort of being in each other's arms.

* * *

Scorpius and Albus are talking at the Slytherin table when James walks into the Great Hall, another boy on his side. James' laughter rings through the air as the boy tells him something. His hand is on James' shoulder and his smile broadens as James looks back at him. For a moment they stand still at the end of the Gryffindor table. James gestures towards the Slytherin table and Scorpius and the boy cross eyes and to Scorpius' surprise he flashes him a smile. Scorpius smiles back before averting his eyes again.

'What's up?' Albus asks him and Scorpius nods toward James and the boy. Albus looks up.

'I promise you I will try and help you as best as I can,' they can hear the other guy saying as he holds out his hand toward James. 'You have my word.'

James shakes his hand, laughingly. Then they see him squeezing the boy's upper arm before giving him a last smile and moving toward the Slytherin table. Albus and Scorpius quickly pretend to be focused on their breakfast when James sits down next to Albus, wrapping his arm around his little brother's shoulders.

'Hey there little Malfoy and little brother!' he greets both boys. 'How are you doing? How's detention treating you boys?'

Albus rolls his eyes. 'It's going great James, thank you for asking.'

Scorpius laughs softly at the brothers in front of him, his heart warming at the sight.

'So who was the other guy?' Albus says, nudging James in the side when his face flushes.

'Just a friend,' he mumbles as he pulls back his arm. 'His name is Evan and we only just recently got to know each other. He's a Ravenclaw and he's really kind. He offered to help me with Potions, so I won't have to bother you anymore.' He pokes Albus in the cheek, who swats his hand away.

'He sounds really great, James,' Scorpius says with a smile on his face.

'He really is,' James agrees and he can't help but smile, his cheeks starting to hurt from all the smiling he had been doing this whole morning.

'Look at you,' Albus says and he wraps his arm around his brother's shoulders this time, pulling him in. 'James is flushing and smiling like a little boy in love!'

James shoves Albus and shakes his head. 'You're the worst, Albus. Alright, I just wanted to say a quick hello. I better head over to the Gryffindor table and get some breakfast,' James winks at Scorpius. 'I'll see you later, new best friend.' He ruffles through Albus' hair. 'Little brother.'

'I see you're both warming up to each other,' Scorpius says as he watches James head off to the Gryffindor table.

'Okay, back to the story, 'Albus says, snapping his fingers to get Scorpius attention back to him. 'So you're telling me that this Scorpion King was dating Yann Fredericks?' Albus raises his eyebrows in amusement when looking at Scorpius over his cup of coffee.

'Yes,' Scorpius mumbles as he pours himself a cup of tea.

'And he kissed you?' Albus hides his smile behind his cup, pretending like he's going to take another sip.

'Yes, Albus. He kissed me,' Scorpius looks up at his best friend, his eyes narrowed. 'But you were fully and openly dating Karl Jenkins.'

Albus face drops as he stares at Scorpius, his cup midair. 'What do you mean I was fully and openly dating Karl Jenkins?'

'Exactly what I'm saying. You and Karl Jenkins were dating. Hand holding. Kissing and all over each other in the common room. Together. A couple. In _loooove_ ,' Scorpius sings the last word, pinching Albus' cheeks. 

Albus swats Scorpius hand away, his face flushing as he looks over his shoulder to the Hufflepuff table. Karl Jenkins is sipping from his cup and for a moment he catches his gaze. Karl smiles at him as he puts his cup down, giving him a little wave. Albus' breath catches in his throat as he nearly drops his cup to wave back at the Hufflepuff boy.

Scorpius gasps, looking from Karl to Albus - who has turned back to his best friend again. His eyes focused on the empty cup in front of him.

'Albus Severus Potter, do you fancy Karl Jenkins?' Scorpius asks, a smirk on his face.

'I don't-' Albus sighs, frowning as he looks back up at Scorpius. His grey eyes staring into his brown ones, expectantly - waiting for Albus to tell him the truth. If there's one thing Albus can't do, it's lying to those grey eyes. 'I might,' he eventually admits resulting into a squeal from Scorpius.

'But what about you?' Albus narrows his eyes at Scorpius. 'Yann Fredericks?'

Scorpius can feel his own face flush at the memory of Yann Fredericks kissing him in the other world.

'You deserve to be happy Scorpius, especially after everything you have been through. Don't let anyone tell you that you don't. Go shoot your shot, Malfoy the Unanxious.'

Scorpius looks up, looking over to the Gryffindor table where James is talking to Yann Fredericks and he sighs. Albus is right, maybe he might just try and shoot his shot. He looks back to Albus who is looking at him with a bright and warm smile. His brown eyes warm, kind and full of fondness as they look at Scorpius. Every single time that Albus looks at him, or just smiles at him, a flood of relief washes over him. After experiencing a world and a time without Albus at his side, as his best friend, he knows he'd never want to be without him. Albus makes him feel seen, appreciated and loved and there's no better friend that he could have ever wished for.

'I'm just really glad to be back,' Scorpius says as he takes Albus' hand in his. 'And to have you back.'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it! The ending of this fic.   
> I want to thank you all for reading this story, for giving me such kind messages. All your words mean the world to me and I can never express in words how thankful and grateful I am for every single one of them. 
> 
> Let me know what you thought of the story, or of the last chapter. I'd love to hear it!


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